HD 

633e 
:36 


UC-NRLF 


ilillllliilllil 


B   4   SD3   754 

trbc  mntversitp  of  Cblcaao 


THE  TREATMENT  OF  THE  PROBLEM  OF 
CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL- 
STUDY  COURSES  IN  THE  CHURCHES 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  SOCIOLOGY 


CLARENCE  DAN  BLACHLY 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 

1930 


,*;«'" 


Zbc  mntvecattp  ot  Cbicaoo 


THE  TREATMENT  OF  THE  PROBLEM  OF 
CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL- 
STUDY  COURSES  IN  THE  CHURCHES 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  SOCIOLOGY 


BY 

CLARENCE  DAN  BLACHLY 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 

1920 


Copyright  1920  By 
The  University  of  Chicago 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Published  January  1920 


i^C-rtM?v*C3S 


PREFACE 

It  is  proposed  in  this  thesis  to  discuss  one  phase  of  a  rather 
remarkable  development  among  many  of  the  Protestant  Churches  in 
America  today.  This  development  is  related  in  part  to  the  general 
progress  of  educational  method  and  in  part  to  the  modern  rise  of 
social  science ;  it  is  partially  due  to  the  insistent  demands  made  by 
the  laboring  classes  in  recent  years  for  social  readjustment.  Modern 
educational  method  including  in  its  sphere  the  churches,  has  effected 
the  present  great  interest  and  activity  in  religious  education.  Social 
science  has  attempted  to  infuse  into  the  teaching  of  the  Sunday  school 
some  of  the  results  of  modern  sociological  investigation.  Changed 
industrial  conditions  have  made  it  necessary  in  many  cases  for  the 
churches  to  readjust  their  methods  and  programs  in  an  attempt  to 
bring  guidance,  peace  and  religious  healing  to  a  new  society.  These 
three  movements,  more  or  less  unconsciously  combining,  have  resulted 
in  many  of  the  church  denominations  in  the  introduction  of  "social 
study"  courses  dealing  with  problems  of  civics,  industry  and  soci- 
ology. 

The  following  analysis  deals  with  one  phase  of  the  social  study 
movement :  its  treatment  in  these  courses  of  the  problem  of  capital 
and  labor.^  This  single  aspect  has  been  chosen  in  order  to  make 
the  task  as  definite  as  possible.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  the  prin- 
ciples underlying  the  detailed  subject  are  applicable,  in  many  cases, 
to  the  whole  problem  of  sociological  study  in  the  churches. 

The  material  for  the  discussion  has  been  secured  chiefly  from 
the  following  sources : 

1.  Correspondence  with  national  Social  Service  Commissions,  de- 
nominational and  inter-denominational. 

2.  Correspondence  with  many  state  and  district  social  service 
committees  and  commissions. 

3.  Several  hundred  pertinent  pamphlets,  folders,  reports,  etc., 
issued  by  various  church  denominations  and  religious  bodies. 

^The  term  "problem  of  capital  and  labor"  is  used  in  the  following  pages 
to  denote  the  various  most  common  problems  of  relationship  between  capital 
and  labor,  as  understood  in  common  parlaijce. 


433174 


vi  PREFACE 

4.  Replies  to  letters  and  questionnaires  sent  to  60  churches  having 
"social  study"  classes. 

5.  Texts  of  all  social  study  courses  used  in  the  leading  Protestant 
denominations  (in  so  far  as  extended  correspondence  and  investiga- 
tion revealed). 

6.  Principal  denominational  periodicals  covering  the  period  from 
1913-17. 

7.  Recent  works  available  in  the  Congressional  Library,  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  on  the  subject  of  the  Sunday  school  and  Sunday  school 
classes.^ 

8.  Numerous  volumes  on  religion  and  religious  education.  (The 
most  important  of  these  appear  in  the  bibliography.) 

9.  Extended  discussions  of  the  problem  with  church  leaders  dur- 
ing one  year  spent  by  the  writer  as  Executive  Secretary  of  the  Social 
Service  Commission  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  Dio- 
cese of  Chicago. 

An  expression  of  gratitude  is  due  many  persons  for  friendly  coun- 
sel and  cheerful  response  to  numerous  inquiries.  The  author's  wife 
and  constant  co-laborer,  Margaret  Bacon  Blachly,  unselfishly  per- 
formed much  of  the  necessary  work  in  the  preparation  of  this  thesis 
and  largely  inspired  the  incentive  to  its  completion.  There  is  also 
acknowledged  particular  indebtedness  for  encouragement  and  assis- 
tance to  the  members  of  the  Social  Service  Commission  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  Diocese  of  Chicago  during  the 
year  191 5-1 6,  especially  to  the  chairman,  Mr.  William  C.  Graves,  and 
the  secretary,  Mr.  Carl  B.  Roden. 

iThere  was,  however,  little  material  bearing  directly  upon  the  special  phase 
under  investigation.     See  appended  bibliography  for  list. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PACE 

I.  Introduction i 

II.  OFFiaAL  Attitude  of  Churches  toward  the  Problem  of  Capi- 
tal A>fD  Labor  8 

A.  Seriousness  of  Present  Industrial  and  Social  Conditions  as  Viewed 

by  the  Churches 8 

1.  Capital 8 

2.  Social  Classes  and  Laborers 9 

3.  The  Economic  Order 10 

B.  The  Challenge  to  the  Churches 12 

1.  General 12 

2.  The  Challenge 12 

C.  The  Churches'  Need  for  Study  of  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  14 

1.  General  Need  of  Study 14 

2.  Who  ShaU  Study  ? 16 

3.  Direct  Recommendations  to  Churches  to  Introduce  Social  Study    17 

D.  Summary 17 

III.  General  Description  OF  Social  Study  Courses      ....  19 

A.  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom 19 

B.  Social  Studies  for  Adult  Classes  and  Brotherhoods  .       ...  20 

C.  Friends' Firsl-Day  School  Graded  Lessons 22 

D.  Social  Service  Pamphlets  Issued  by  the  Social  Service  Commission 

of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention 22 

E.  Unitarian  Social  Service  Series 22 

F.  Poverty  and  Wealth,  by  lla-TvyF.  Ward 23 

G.  Christianizing  Community  Life,  by  Usury  F.W^Td         ...  23 
H.  International  Sunday  School  Series 24 

IV.  Methods  of  Treating  the  Problem  of  Capital  and  Labor  in 

Social  Study  Courses 27 

A.  Introduction 27 

B.  Religious  or  Evangelical  Treatment 28 

1.  Introductory 28 

2.  Descriptionof  Present  Conditions  Given  in  Texts      ...  28 

a)  Poverty 29 

b)  Wealth 31 

c)  Social  Classes 32 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

3.  Teaching  in  Evangelical  Group  of  Social  Study  Texts,  in 

regard  to  Conditions  Presented 32 

a)  Economic  Treatment 32 

b)  Moral  and  Spiritual  Issues 34 

C.  Treatment  from  the  Standpoint  of  Applied  Sociology  and  Social 

Legislation 45 

1 .  Social  Duties  from  a  Christian  Point  of  View,  Charles  Richmond 
Henderson 45 

2.  The  Social  Creed  of  the  Churches,  Harry  F.  Ward      ...  46 

3.  Social  Service  Pamphlets,  issued  by  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society 47 

4.  Unitarian  Social  Service  Bulletins 48 

D."  Use  of  Foregoing  Series  (Rehgious  and  Sociological  Treatments) 

in  Social  Study  Classes 48 

E.  Attempts  at  Combining  Religious  and  Sociological  Treatments 

of  Problem  of  Capital  and  Labor 49 

1.  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  ^tnes 50 

a)  Description 50 

h)  Use  and  Results 57 

2.  The  Bible  and  Social  Living  {Metho(^st) 65 

a)  Description  and  Use 65 

3.  The  Bible  and  Social  Living  {Baptist) 72 

a)  Description  and  Use 72 

F.  Summary 77 

V.  General  Summary  AND  Conclusions 78 

Bibliography 84 

Appendix 89 


.'  i  •.•' 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTION 

The  church,  being  an  organization  for  the  teaching  and  inculcation 
of  rehgion,  there  are  those  who  would  deduce,  according  to  their 
own  idea  of  religion,  just  what  should  be  its  function  in  educational 
as  well  as  other  spheres.  Extended  study  and  research  have  shown, 
however,  that  the  term  religion  may  include  quite  properly  a  very 
large  number  of  meanings.    In  the  words  of  a  recent  writer: 

We  must  at  the  outset  realize  the  impossibility  of  framing  a  definition 
of  religion  that  shall  cover  all  of  its  historic  aspects.  There  lies  here 
before  our  eyes  a  confused  and  ever-changing  mass  of  emotions,  beliefs, 
rites  and  acts,  there  is  no  common  factor  that  runs  through  them  all, 
no  one  thing  that  all  phases  of  religion  have  had  in  common  that  is  not 
also  to  be  found  in  other  spheres  of  human  activity.^ 

If  we  grant  the  impossibility  of  basing  our  conclusions  concerning 
church  or  Sunday  school  methods  on  any  deductive  reasoning  from 
any  universally  accepted  definition  of  the  religious  function,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  treat  the  problem  from  the  standpoint  of  actual 
thought  and  action  in  this  field  by  existing  churches  and  schools  or  by 
recognized  leaders. 

The  interest  in  the  study  of  present  civic,  industrial  and  social 
problems  in  the  church  schools  has  arisen  in  conjunction  with  the 
more  comprehensive,  so-called  "social  service"  movement  in  the 
churches.  This  movement,  though  a  logical  development  of  the 
social  spirit  of  Christian  teaching,  arose  out  of  the  peculiar  economic 
relations  of  the  nineteenth  and  early  part  of  the  twentieth  century. 
The  industrial  revolution  with  the  modern  wage  system,  the  con- 
centration of  great  numbers  of  working  people  in  urban  centers,  and 
the  resulting  class  diflPerentiations  may  be  deemed  its  background. 

One  of  the  foremost  causes  of  the  Social  Service  Movement  was. 
and  is.  Socialism. 

The  alienation  of  modern  socialists  from  the  Church  has  done  probably 
more  than  anything  else  to  turn  the  attention  of  the  Church  to  social 
questions  and  to  enlist  its  support  for  social  reform the  Church 

iDurant  Drake,  Problems  of  Religion  (Houghton  Mifflin  Co.,  1916),  p.  12. 


'2   '  ''"•  'CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

as  an  organization  has  been  awakened  to  the  situation  chiefly  by  the 
hostihty  of  which  it  has  become  conscious.  It  must  meet  the  new  condi- 
tions or  lose  its  place  as  the  religion  of  the  people.  As  a  result  many 
organizations  have  been  formed,  such  as  the  Guild  of  St.  Matthew  and 
the  Christian  Social  Union  in  England,  the  Freimde  der  Christlichen  Welt 
and  the  Christlichsozialer  Congress  in  Germany,  and  the  Christian  Social 
Union  and  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Kingdom  in  America,  with  the  par- 
ticular purpose  of  showing  the  laboring  classes  that  the  Church  is  con- 
cerned for  their  welfare  and  thus  winning  back  their  support.  Some 
of  their  members  are  avowedly  and  radically  socialistic,  others  are  quite 
the  reverse,  believing  that  the  reign  of  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  within 
the  framework  of  the  existing  economic  system  is  the  great  end  to  be 
aimed  at.^ 

Furthermore,  the  fact  that  socialism  seemed  to  be  estabhshing 
itself  almost  as  a  rival  religion  to  the  Christian  church  was  no  small 
factor  in  leading  the  church  to  attempt  some  solution  of  social  prob- 
lems. 

Finally  it  should  not  be  overlooked  that  socialism  itself,  the  cause  not 
of  an  individual,  but  of  a  whole  class  of  society,  and  that  the  most  desti- 
tute class,  meets  those  needs  of  reverence,  devotion,  self-forgetfulness, 
enthusiasm,  and  hope  to  which  religion  commonly  ministers,  and  thus 
constitutes  for  multitudes  an  adequate  substitute  for  religion,  or  perhaps 
it  might  fairly  be  said  a  new  religion  in  place  of  the  old.^ 

There  are  fifteen  socialist  Sunday  schools  in  operation  in  New  York 
City:  in  Rochester  and  Buffalo  there  are  single  schools:  in  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  there  is  a  school:  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  Maiden,  and 
Lynn,  Massachusetts,  there  are  about  five  schools.     In  Baltimore  there 

is  a  large  school,  and  also  in  Washington,  D.  C (New  York 

City  attendance  about  4,000.  As  to  the  attendance  in  other  cities  it  can 
only  be  estimated.  Three  thousand  would  probably  be  a  conservative 
figure)  .* 

Pittsburgh  has  a  socialist  church,  the  United  People's  Church  of 
Pittsburgh.  The  original  membership  was  85  and  the  increase  during 
the  year  1914-15  was  228.    Their  creed  follows: 

We  declare  our  object  to  be  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God  and  His  justice  on  earth  by  destroying  the  profit  system,  educating 

2McGiffert,  The  Rise  of  Modern  Religious  Ideas,  p.  270. 
^Ibid.,  p.  269. 

■^Article  on  Socialist  Sunday  Schools,  Encyc.  of  Sunday  Schools  and 
Religious  Education,  III,  973~74- 


INTRODUCTION  3 

and  organizing  the  people,  preaching  true  catholicity  and  righteousness 
and  practising  charity  to  all.'* 

Closely  connected  with  the  alienation  of  the  Socialists  was  the 
failure  of  large  groups  of  laboring  people  to  affiliate  themselves 
with  the  Protestant  churches.  During  the  twenty  years  from  1890  to 
1910,  there  was  a  great  influx  of  foreign  workingmen  into  the  cities  of 
the  United  States.  These  immigrants  gradually  crowded  into  the 
neighborhoods  about  the  city  center,  while  the  original  "better  class" 
inhabitants  of  the  one-time  well-to-do  residence  districts  moved  into 
the  suburbs.  The  large  Protestant  churches  that  had  been  estab- 
lished by  the  earlier  residents  were  deserted  by  their  wealthy  mem- 
bers, and  the  neighborhoods  were  rapidly  filled  by  immigrants,  who 
besides  being  laboring  people  were  generally  Catholics.  Obviously, 
the  newcomers  did  not  take  the  places  of  those  who  had  left.  In 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  and  other  centers  large  churches 
were  left  almost  desolate  in  the  midst  of  a  great  population  which 
did  not  attend  their  services.  Churches  die  hard ;  and  naturally  their 
leaders  began  to  make  efforts  to  win  these  working  people.  But  the 
formerly  wealthy  institutions  found  their  task  difficult,  since  many 
of  the  laboring  group  had  imbibed  ideas  of  enmity  against  the  well- 
to-do.  Other  causes  also  led  to  a  visible  separation  of  the  churches 
and  the  working  classes. 

The  most  startling  truth  that  can  be  told  is  lately  being  told  so  often 
that  it  is  ceasing  to  startle  us.  It  is  this :  That  the  modern  church  and  the 
wage-earning  class  are  mutually  estranged. ^ 

Our  city  churches  are  not  proportionately  constituted  of  manual  labor- 
ers and  still  less  of  trades-unionists.  The  seriousness  of  the  matter  lies  not 
only  in  the  great  numbers  alienated,  but  in  the  further  facts,  first,  that 
the  evil  is  characteristic  of  our  cities  where  all  the  social  problems  have 
appeared  in  their  most  difficult  forms ;  second,  that  the  classes  concerned 
are  partially  inclusive  of  organized  labor.' 

Thus  it  became  evident  that  if  Protestantism  were  going  to  thrive 
in  certain  large  regions  of  the  cities  it  would  be  necessary  to  win 
organized  labor.  This  naturally  led  to  a  study  of  the  economic  diffi- 
culties in  the  way.     Many  of  these  semi-deserted  churches  became 

^Thc  Christian  Century.  June,   191 5.  P-   10. 

•Balch,  Christianity  and  the  Labor  Movement,  p.  7. 

''Ibid.,  p.  14. 


4  CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

institutional  in  character,®  thus  attempting  directly  to  attack  various 
social  problems  connected  with  the  laboring  population;  and  from 
such  agencies  has  arisen  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  interest  in  prob- 
lems pertaining  to  the  proletariat. 

At  the  same  time  various  non-religious  agencies  were  rendering 
a  great  uplift  service  among  the  laboring  people.  There  were  the 
settlements,  nurseries,  welfare  agencies,  constituting  vast  propa- 
ganda of  social  service  which  without  any  religious  creed  attracted 
large  numbers  of  the  working-class  group. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  church  having  failed,  outside  agencies  have 
arisen  and  today  they  are  taking  the  place  of  the  church;  and  reference 
is  made  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  the  Rescue  Missions, 
the  Salvation  Army,  and  other  philanthropic  and  relief  agencies.  There 
is  a  measure  of  truth  in  this  statement.^ 

One  of  the  chief  phases  of  this  modern  peril  (to  the  church)  is  our 
failure  to  make  the  church  attractive  to  the  multitudes.^" 

The  church,  then,  because  of  competition  was  compelled  to  enter 
the  field  of  social  service.  This  involved  an  effort  to  orient  itself 
in  the  problems  of  capital  and  labor  that  so  largely  affected  the  field. 

A  number  of  men  who  had  either  been  laboring  people  themselves 
or  who  had  had  large  experience  with  laborers  entered  the  ministry. 
Such  were  Edward  A.  Steiner,  Charles  Rauschenbusch,  Charles 
Stelzle.  These  men  were  fired  with  sympathy  for  the  laboring  popu- 
lation and,  at  the  same  time,  filled  with  zeal  for  the  teachings  and 
ideals  of  the  Church.  Therefore,  they  endeavored  to  apply,  and 
largely  influenced  others  to  apply,  these  teachings  to  industrial  prob- 
lems. 

The  foregoing  were  some  of  the  conditions  from  which  developed 
the  "social  service  movement."     Probably  the  first  organization  for 

^Berkley  Temple  (Congregational),  Morgan  Memorial  Church  (Unitarian 
and  Methodist),  Ruggles  Street  Baptist  Church  and  Bulfinch  Place  Church 
(Unitarian),  of  Boston;  St.  Bartholomew's  Parish  House  (Protestant  Epis- 
copal), St.  George's  Church  (Protestant  Episcopal),  Holy  Communion  Church 
(Protestant  Episcopal),  Church  of  the  Land  and  Sea  (Presbyterian),  Spring 
Street  Presbyterian  Church,  of  New  York  City;  First  Congregational  Church, 
of  Jersey  City;  Baptist  Temple,  in  Philadelphia;  Good  Samaritan  Cathedral, 
in  San  Francisco.    See  Womer,  The  Church  and  the  Labor  Conflict,  p.  75. 

^Stelzle,  American  Social  and  Religious  Conditions,  p.  199. 

loE.  L.  Earp,  The  Social  Engineer  (New  York,  Eaton  &  Plains),  191 1. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

"Social  Christianity"  in  this  country  was  that  composed  of  a  few 
clergymen  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  who  in  1887  or- 
ganized the  "Church  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  the  In- 
terests of  Labor" ;  the  second  apparently  being  "The  Brotherhood 
of  the  Kingdom,"  formed  by  the  Baptists  in  1893  and  later  broadly 
inter-denominationalized.  The  Presbyterians  established  a  Depart- 
ment of  Church  and  Labor  in  1903. 

The  honor  of  making  the  first  ringing  declaration  in  a  national  con- 
vention belongs  to  the  M.E.  Church.  Every  General  Conference  since 
1892  had  been  memorialized  by  some  minor  body  pleading  for  action. 
In  1908  no  less  than  thirteen  annual  conferences  beside  various  preachers' 
meetings  presented  memorials.  The  bishops  in  a  cautious  way  devoted 
a  large  part  of  their  episcopal  address  to  the  subject.  The  Committee 
on  the  State  of  the  Church  presented  a  brave  and  outspoken  report, 
culminating  in  a  kind  of  Bill  of  Rights  for  labor,  and  ending  in  a  splendid 
summons  to  all  the  militant  forces  of  this  church  to  do  their  part  in  the 
pressing  duty  of  the  hour. 

Immediately  after  the  M.E.  General  Conference,  in  December,  1908, 
the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America  was  organized 
at  Philadelphia,  representing  and  uniting  thirty-three  Protestant  denom- 
inations  The  Bill  of  Rights  adopted  by  the  Methodist  Confer- 
ence was  presented  with  some  changes  and  adopted  without  the  slightest 
disposition  to  halt  it  at  any  point. 

Nearly  every  great  denominational  convention  since  that  time  has 
felt  the  obligation  to  make  a  serious  pronouncement  on  the  social  ques- 
tion. 

One  of  the  first  results  of  the  formation  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America  was  the  organization  of  a  Commission  on 
the  Church  and  Social  Service.  This  has  co-ordinated  the  work  of  the 
various  denominations  in  this  field. '^ 

Since  1908  nearly  all  the  leading  denominations  have  organized 
national  social  service  commissions  and  a  number  of  state,  diocese  or 
district  commissions,  the  work  of  all  these  groups  being  the  co-ordi- 
nation of  effort  and  the  furtherance  of  the  general  program  of  social 
service  in  their  several  fields  of  jurisdiction.  It  may  not  be  amiss 
at  this  point  to  state  'as  briefly  as  possible  just  what  the  program 
and  method  of  the  Social  Service  movement  really  are.  Perhaps 
this  can  be  done  best  by  a  direct  quotation — taken  from  one  denom- 
inational leaflet,  but  representative  of  all. 

^'^The  Church  and  Social  Scn'icc,  pp.  19  and  20. 


6  CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

1.  What  is  social  service? 

That  form  of  effort  for  man's  redemption  which  seeks  to  upHft  and 
transform  his  community  life.  As  such  it  is  the  social  application  of 
Christian  principles,  and  a  new  name  for  that  spirit  of  philanthropy  and 
service  which  is  as  old  as  Christianity. 

2.  Why  do  you  call  it  social  service  ? 

Because  it  deals  with  man  as  a  social  being  in  his  social  relations  and 
with  social  causes  and  conditions :  because  it  demands  social  and  collective 
action,  and  seeks  not  only  to  save  men  but  to  embody  their  Christian  life 
in  social  institutions. 


4.  What  is  the  fundamental  idea  of  social  service? 

The  idea  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  which  in  the  Christian  conception 
of  things  may  mean  much  more  than  a  human  society  on  earth,  but  can 
never  mean  anything  less. 

7.  What  are  the  chief  items  in  the  social  service  program? 

The  relief  of  need  and  distress,  the  prevention  of  poverty  and  crime, 
the  provision  for  all  of  the  conditions  of  a  clean,  healthy,  moral,  anu 
spiritual  life,  the  creation  of  a  social  atmosphere  which  shall  induce  a 
right  course  of  conduct,  the  adjustment  of  men's  relations  in  justice  and 
brotherhood. 

9.  What  are  the  methods  of  social  service? 

It  seeks  to  relieve  distress  and  need  in  such  ways  as  to  help  men  most 
effectually ;  it  also  seeks  to  discover  the  causes  and  conditions  of  poverty, 
sickness,  crime  and  misery,  and  then  to  remove  bad  causes  and  conditions 
and  create  good  causes  and  conditions;  it  believes  that  the  church,  the 
family,  the  school,  the  state  are  all  means  and  agencies  through  which 
these  ends  may  be  sought. 

13.  What  can  a  church  do  in  behalf  of  social  betterment? 

It  can  have  one  or  more  classes  engaged  in  social-service  study :  it  can 
have  committees  studying  the  various  agencies  of  social  uplift  in  the  com- 
munity :  it  can  have  a  positive  and  constructive  program  and  can  organize 
their  efforts  for  effective  work. 

14.  Name  several  immediate  and  practical  things  that  can  be  done. 
Secure  for  every  worker  one  day's  rest  in  seven;  have  a  censorship 

committee  of  all  moving-picture  and  other  shows;  equip  a  playground 
within  half  a  mile  of  every  home  in  the  city;  make  efficient  the  agencies 


INTRODUCTION  7 

seeking  to  suppress  gambling,  the  social  evil,  alcohol,  and  all  habit-forming 
drugs;  see  that  there  is  a  good  child-labor  law  and  that  it  is  enforced. 

16.  What  is  the  ultimate  purpose  of  social  service? 

It  seeks  to  create  such  a  social  order  in  the  world  as  shall  realize  the 
Christian  ideal  of  human  society,  to  give  each  soul  a  true  inheritance  in 
life  to  develop  a  perfect  life  in  a  perfect  society,  and  to  make  Jesus  Christ 
a  fact  in  the  universal  life  of  the  world. ^2 

It  may  be  observed  from  the  foregoing  catechism  that  one  of 
the  elements  of  the  program  of  this  social  service  movement  is  study 
of  the  field  and  problems  of  social  service.  It  is  this  aspect  of  the 
movement  that  shall  engage  our  attention  in  general,  and  in  particu- 
lar it  is  the  treatment  of  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor  in  such 
social  study  that  shall  receive  our  special  interest. 

"American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  A  Social  Service  Catechism. 
Published  for  Social  Service  Commission  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention, 
Bull.  No.  I. 


CHAPTER  II 

OFFICIAL  ATTITUDE  OF  CHURCHES  TOWARD  THE  PROB- 
LEM OF  CAPITAL  AND  LABOR 

Introduction. — As  has  been  pointed  out  in  the  general  introduc- 
tion the  churches  have  recognized  in  recent  years  that  it  is  necessary 
for  them,  if  they  are  to  maintain  any  true  leadership  in  the  field  of 
social  morality,  to  take  an  active  part  in  momentous  moral  and  social 
problems  that  confront  modern  society.  Especially  have  the  ques- 
tions of  capital  and  labor  seemed  to  demand  the  deepest  considera- 
tion of  "the  church."^  First  it  was  incumbent  upon  her  to  define  an 
attitude  in  regard  to  these  problems.  With  this  done,  she  could 
formulate  and  attempt  to  promulgate,  in  sermons  and  in  courses  of 
instruction,  a  body  of  teachings  concerning  them. 

Beginning  with  1908,  therefore,  church  councils  and  conventions 
frequently  gave  expression  to  their  attitude  toward  those  industrial 
problems  that  to  a  certain  extent  had  caused  division  in  society. 
Before  we  undertake  to  study  the  teachings  regarding  capital  and 
labor  in  church  study  classes,  it  will  be  well  to  examine  the  official 
expressions  of  the  churches  with  reference  to  this  matter,  for  the 
type  and  method  of  instruction  will  certainly  be  largely  determined 
by  the  attitude  of  the  teaching  body.  Such  examination  will  be 
attempted  in  the  following  section. 

A.     SERIOUSNESS    OF    PRESENT    INDUSTRIAL    AND    SOCIAL    CONDITIONS 
AS  VIEWED  BY   THE  CHURCHES 

I.    CAPITAL 

The  expressed  official  attitude  of  "the  church"^  toward  "capital" 
will  be  seen  as  somewhat  critical.  We  shall  find  this  reaction  rather 
characteristic  throughout  the  discussion  of  the  church's  treatment 
of  the  industrial  problem. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Board  of  Bishops  in  1912  registered  a 
protest    against    organized    capital    in    the    following    language: 

^The  term,  "the  church,"  is  used  to  denote  the  principal  branches  of  the 
Protestant  church,  thirty-one  of  which  are  affiliated  under  "The  Federal  Coun- 
cil of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America." 


ATTITUDE  OF  CHLRCHES  TOWARD  THE  PROBLEM  9 

".  .  .  .  Organized  capital  stands  indicted  at  the  bar  of  public  judg- 
ment for  the  gravest  crimes  against  the  common  welfare "- 

The  Federal  Council  of  Churches,  representing  31  Protestant 
denominations,  in  the  same  year  also  issued  a  strong  statement 
against  the  capitalistic  interests  as  follows : 

That  powerful  interests  have  not  ceased  to  take  toll  of  our  labor,  to 
levy  tribute  on  the  people,  to  exercise  a  taxing  power  without  authority, 
and  that  they  are  thereby  continuing  to  amass  the  wealth  of  the  nation  in 
dangerous  aggregations,  there  is  common  consent.^ 

The  Commission  on  Social  Service  of  the  American  Christian 
Convention  says : 

When  the  great  merchant  princes  of  our  time  become  millionaires,  and 
a  pitifully  small  wage  is  paid  to  the  girls  that  work  in  their  emporiums, 
do  you  think  religion  should  have  anything  to  say  to  the  princes  of 
finance?* 

The  Social  Sennce  Message  of  the  Men  and  Religion  Forward 
Movement  says : 

The  most  fundamental  form  of  social  service  is  to  put  a  stop  to 
unearned  profits.^ 

The  Northern  Baptist  Social  Service  Commission  protests  against 
monopoly,  saying : 

The  resources  of  the  earth,  being  the  heritage  of  the  people,  should 
not  be  monopolized  by  the  few  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  many ;  .  .  .  . 
benefit  enjoyed  should  hold  direct  relation  to  service  rendered. * 

The  statement  already  quoted  by  the  Federal  Council  of  Churches 
of  Christ  in  America  is  a  fairly  good  representation  of  the  attitude 
of  the  particular  denominations  towards  capital. 

2.    SOCIAL  CLASSES  AND  LABORERS 

a)  Social  Classes. — There  is  general  recognition  that  conflicting 
social  classes  exist.  "Of  course  it  is  class-conscious  labor  which  is 
joining  the  issue  with  capital,"  says  Home  Mission  Methods  of  the 

2H.  F.  Ward.  Social  Service  Year  Book  (New  York  American  Mission- 
ary Movement.  1916),  p.  221. 

^Ibid.,  223. 

■•Commission  on  Social  Service,  American  Christian  Convention,  Year 
Book,  1914,  p.  210. 

^Ward,  op.  cit.,  p.  215.  «Ward.  op.  cit..  p.  216. 


lO         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

Presbyterian  Church  North,  "and  precipitating  the  present  acute  in- 
dustrial conditions."  And  again  the  same  official  organ  says :  "It  is 
manifestly  impossible  for  the  church  or  any  other  official  organ  to 
overlook  the  fact  that  classes  exist." 

The  Indiana  Baptist  Convention,  1910,  issued  the  following  state- 
ment : 

Between  the  working  classes  and  the  predatory  classes  there  is  a  con- 
stant conflict  of  interest  and  effort Between  the  workers  and  the 

exploiters,  as  economic  classes  into  which  society  as  a  whole  is  divided, 
the  conflict  of  interest  and  effort  is  fundamental,  world-wide,  and 
constant.'^ 

The  Federal  Council  of  Churches  sees  it  as  a  part  of  the  natural 
order  that  working  men  should  organize  for  social  and  industrial 
betterment. 

b)  Demands  of  Workingmen  for  Rights. — There  is  general  sym- 
pathy expressed  with  the  workingmen  in  their  demand  for  more 
rights.  The  "Social  Service  Message"  of  the  "Men  and  Religion 
Forward  Movement"  emphasizes  the  fact  that  in  a  righteous  eco- 
nomic order  all  who  work  with  hand  and  brain  should  have  the  full 
reward  of  their  work.'^  The  Northern  Baptist  Convention,  1914, 
finds  that  "The  hunger  for  social  justice  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the 
unrest  of  our  time,"^  and  the  Congregational  National  Council,  1915, 
declares  the  "industrial  unrest  throughout  the  world  is  an  expression 
of  the  demand  of  the  workers  for  a  voice  in  determining  the  condi- 
tions that  so  largely  affect  their  lives. "^^  The  Protestant-Episcopal 
Church  in  191 5  declared  that  business  must  be  conducted  for  the 
common  good,  "if  need  be,  under  the  effective  direction  of  the  rank 
and  file,"^^  and  the  Congregational  National  Council,  1915,  also  voices 
this  sentiment.^ - 

3.    THE  ECONOMIC  ORDER 

a)  General. — It  is  generally  recognized  in  official  church  utter- 
ances that  a  fundamental  change  in  the  economic  order  is  imminent. 
As  it  now  is,  the  economic  order  is  thoroughly  unsatisfactory.  So 
the  Federal  Council  of  Churches  of  Christ  in  America  in  1908  recog- 
nizes that  "there  are  many  phases  of  present  industrial  conditions 

■'^Ward,  op.  cit.,  p.  234.  ^^Ibid.,  p.  203. 

^Ibid.,  p.  215.  ^'^Ibid.,  p.  225. 

^Ibid.,  p.  231.  ^^Ibid.,  p.  203. 


ATTITUDE  OF  CHURCHES  TOWARD  THE  PROBLEM         ii 

that  cry  aloud  for  immediate  remedy."'"'  And  adds  that  "multitudes 
are  deprived  by  what  are  called  economic  laws  of  that  opportunity  to 
which  every  man  has  a  right."  An  official  organ  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  Social  Service  and  the  Episcopal  Church,  believes  that  "the 
fundamental  issue  is  not  social  amelioration,  but  social  reconstruc- 
tion."^'' The  Northern  Baptist  Convention,  1913,  views  with  alarm 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  industrial  world, ^^  and  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  1913,  states  that  "the 
problems  of  capital  and  labor  have  become  in  a  certain  sense  the 
paramount  concern  of  the  nations  of  the  world.""'  The  Five  Years* 
Meeting  of  Friends,  191 1,  finds  the  warfare  of  capital  and  labor 
back  of  all  the  problems  of  the  modern  world,''  and  the  Report  of  the 
Social  Senice  Commission,  Protestant  Episcopal  Diocese  of  Chicago, 
1909,  claims  that  "Our  modern  competitive  industrial  system  results 
in  conditions  which  are  essentially  un-Christian  and  unjust  to  the 
men  that  produce  the  wealth,'*  while  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  an 
official  publication,  What  the  Presbyterian  Church  Believes  about 
Social  Problems,^^  gives  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor  as  one  of 
the  four  great  secular  questions  of  the  day. 

b)  Urgent  Need  of  Change. — In  the  face  of  such  conditions  as 
have  been  recognized,  it  is  natural  that  there  should  be  expression  of 
an  urgent  need  for  change.  So  the  Protestant  Episcopal  General 
Convention,  1913,  declares  that  "A  growing  number  of  Christian 
men  and  women  see  that  conditions,  social  and  industrial,  which 
obtain  today,  are  not  compatible  with  the  realization  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God."-'^ 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  191 3. 
believes  that  "complacency  can  exist  only  in  the  hearts  of  those  who 
are  ignorant  of  the  inequalities  and  injustice  of  our  present  social 
order."-'    The  Five  Year  Meeting  of  Friends,  1911,  says: 

In  order  to  preserve  the  Christian  civilization  which  our  fathers  built 
by  their  sacrifice,  and  in  order  to  carry  it  forward  to  fuller  perfection,  we 

^^The  Church  and  Modern  Industry    (Federal  Council  of  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America.  1908),  p.  10. 
i*Ward,  op.  cit.,  p.  215. 

^^Ibid.,  p.  207.  ^'Ibid..  p.  211. 

^^Ibid.,  p.  209.  18/fcirf.,  p.  237. 

»»P.  4  (Presbjterian  Board  of  Publication,  1911.) 

20Ward,  op.  cit.,  p.  213.  -^Ibid.,  p.  213. 


12         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

must  work  out  an  order  of  industry  and  commerce  which  shall  be  at  least 
an  approximate  expression  of  the  fact  that  all  men  are  a  great  family  with 
one  Father.-^ 

The  Federal  Council  of  Churches,  1908,  with  the  following  drastic 
description  of  present  conditions,  calls  for  a  radical  change : 

There  are  many  phases  of  the  present  industrial  conditions  in  the 
United  States  which  cry  aloud  for  immediate  remedy  ....  multitudes 
are  deprived  by  what  are  called  economic  laws  of  that  opportunity  to 
which  every  man  has  a  right.  When  automatic  movements  cause  injustice 
and  disaster,  the  autonomy  should  be  destroyed.  That  to  these  impersonal 
causes  were  added  the  cruelties  of  greed,  the  heartlessness  of  ambition  and 
the  cold  indifference  of  corporate  selfishness,  every  friend  of  his  fellow 
men  must  with  grief  and  shame  admit.  The  unemployed  are  an  "army." 
The  "accidents"  of  factories  and  railroads  crowd  our  institutions  and  tene- 
ments with  widows  and  orphans.  The  stress  of  reckless  competition 
which  loads  manhood  with  oppressive  burdens,  bears  upon  the  frail 
strength  of  womanhood,  and  turns  sunny  childhood  into  drudgery,  dwarfs 
our  stature,  saps  our  vitality,  crowds  our  prisons,  vitiates  our  virtue  and 
darkens  our  old  age.  The  "homes"  of  the  wage-earners  in  our  great  cen- 
ters are  an  indictment  of  our  civilization.  The  meagre  income  which  is 
easily  reckoned  sufficient  by  the  fortunate  who  are  not  forced  to  live  upon 
it  is  without  warrant  or  reason. ^^ 

The  foregoing  citations  indicate  that  the  expressed  official  atti- 
tude of  the  churches  toward  the  problem  of  capital" and  labor  is 
dynamic  and  sympathetic  with  labor.  There  is  general  recognition 
that  society  is  far  away  from  the  goal  of  a  Christian  civilization, 
and  that  there  is  needed  a  great  cultural  work  by  and  for  both 
individuals  and  groups.  Truly  a  rich  field  for  any  agency  like  the 
church  to  scatter  the  civilizing  influence  of  knowledge,  social  sym- 
pathy, and  comprehension!  The  call  to  the  churches  to  perform 
this  work  is  given  attention  in  the  following  section. 

B.   THE  CHALLENGE  TO  THE  CHURCHES 

1.  General. — In  the  semi-civilization  so  darkly  depicted  by  the 
official  utterances  of  the  church,  her  official  representative  bodies  rec- 
ognize a  great  opportunity  for  service. 

2.  The  Challenge. 

a)  Opportunity  of  the  Churches. — The  Federal  Council  of 
Churches,  1912,  sees  "the  masses  of  the  people  divided  among  them- 

'^Op.  cit.,  p.  211.  '^Ibid.,  p.  206. 


ATTITUDE  OF  CHURCHES  TOWARD  THE  PROBLEM         13 

selves,  and  the  movement  of  social  crisis  giving  the  church  the  sov- 
ereign opportunity  of  all  her  history  to  establish  peace  with  the 
administering  hand  of  justice.-*  The  same  council  reminds  the  church 
that  it  has  an  unrealized  power  which,  if  rightly  used,  could  solve 
the  problems  of  society ;  and  again  it  urges  faith  that  the  gospel  pro- 
fessed by  the  churches  of  Christ  in  America  may  be  equal  to  the  task. 

b)  Duty  of  the  Churches. — The  Protestant  Episcopal  General 
Council,  191 3,  believes  that  "it  is  patent  that  the  time  has  come  when 
the  church  must  face  this  issue;  if  she  is  to  stand  as  a  church  of 
humanity  she  can  no  longer  afford  to  ignore  the  demand  or  the  chal- 
lenge of  the  wage-earners.-'' 

The  United  Presbyterian  Brotherhood,  1912,  declares  that  if  the 
church  has  the  spirit  of  Christ  it  cannot  rest  content  so  long  as 
oppression  and  injustice  reign  in  the  economic  world.-"  The  Re- 
formed Church  in  the  United  States  believes  that  the  church  has  a 
vital  interest  in  the  social  relations  of  men  and  owes  a  duty  in  the 
solution  of  every  social  problem.-^  The  Men  and  Religion  Forward 
Movement  finds  that  "the  duty  of  creating  a  righteous  economic  order 
is  upon  us  all."-^  The  Federal  Council  of  Churches,  1912,  believes 
the  time  has  come  when  the  church  must  earnestly  and  sympathet- 
ically make  tlie  problems  of  the  workers  and  the  people  its  problems.-" 
The  Joint  Commission  on  Social  Service  for  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  1 91 3,  resolves  that  the  "Convention  should  go  on  record  as 
favoring  a  general  recognition  of  the  church's  duty  with  reference  to 
the  cause  of  injustice. "■^'^ 

It  is  thus  plainly  shown  that  the  churches  recognize  the  serious 
problems  of  industry,  and  recognize  that  they,  as  society's  organiza- 
tion for  maintaining  and  furthering  high  and  sincere  social  morality 
and  justice,  are  in  duty  bound  to  attack  this  problem  with  all  the 
power  they  can  employ.  The  next  question,  however,  that  presents 
itself  is:  how,  and  in  what  manner,  is  the  church  to  attack  these 
great  industrial  problems? 

c)  General  Function  of  Churches  in  the  Situation. — The  church 
must  "inspire  the  consciousness  of  individuals,"  the  Congregational 
National  Council  affirms.    It  must  "concern  itself  more  and  more  in 

2-»Ward,  np.  cit.,  p.  223. 

^^Ibid.,  p.  213.  2"/tirf.,  p.  2\\.  -^Ibid..  p.  22.4. 

2"/6i<f.,  p.  213.  -''Ibid.,  p.  224.  3'>lbid.,  p.  208. 


14         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

setting  forth  the  facts  in  regard  to  social  wrongs."  (General  Assem- 
bly, United  Presbyterian  Church,  191 3.)  It  must  make  the  social 
order  the  outward  and  material  expression  of  a  moral  and  spiritual 
principle.     (Federal  Council  of  Churches,  191 2.) 

In  other  words,  the  method  of  the  church  in  seeking  to  remove 
the  social  wrongs  described  and  to  bring  in  a  better  civilization  is 
educating  the  intelligence  and  sympathy  of  men  to  form  a  co-opera- 
tive instead  of  the  more  or  less  predatory  society  as  it  now  exists. 
Therefore  the  church  recognizes  as  pre-eminent  the  need  for  study 
of  social  conditions,  relationships,  and  principles.  The  recognition 
of  this  need  is  discussed  in  the  following  section. 

C.   THE    church's   NEED   FOR    STUDY   OF   SOCIAL  AND    INDUSTRIAL 

CONDITIONS 

I.    GENERAL  NEED  OF  STUDY 

a)  General. — The  consciousness  has  come  over  the  church  that 
vague  ideas  of  the  old-fashioned — and  still  valid — principles  of  indi- 
vidual morality,  such  as  thrift,  patience,  temperance,  love  of  one's 
"next"  are  not  a  sufificient  equipment  for  the  citizen  of  the  modern 
industrial  and  commercial  capitalistic  society.     The  Commission  on  | 

the  Church  and  Social  Service,  Federal  Council  of  Churches,  in  one  _    | 

of  its  publications,  a  pamphlet  on  social  studies,  says  :  | 

The  churches  have  long  confessed  their  obligation  to  instruct  the 

people  in  individual  needs  and  duties.    They  have  also  given  much  atten-  ^ 

tion  to  the  instruction  of  men  in  their  relations  and  obligations  to  God.  |. 

But  the  churches  have  thus  far  not  given  a  proportionate  amount  of  atten-  | 

tion  to  the  relations  and  obligations  of  men  to  one  another The  | 

church  that  would  fulfil  its  whole  mission  must  therefore  interpret  the  f, 
meaning  of  social  relations,  instruct  the  people  in  their  social  duties,  and 
give  the  young  an  adequate  ethical  equipment  for  social  living. 

The  church  should  teach  men  how  to  apply  religion  to  all  life — per-  | 

sonal,  social,  and  industrial.  | 

Also :  I 

The  Commission  on  the  Church  and  Social  Service  further  states  :  | 

"The  most  important  work  of  the  immediate  future  is  the  education  '■. 

of  the  people  of  our  churches"  (in  social  problems  and  needs)  .^^    The  i 

Methodist  Brotherhood  says :  "We  cannot  emphasize  education  too  | 

s'The  Report  of  the  Commission  of  the  Church  and  Social  Service  to  the 
Federal  Council  of  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  1912,  p.  10. 


ATTITUDE  OF  CHURCHES  TOWARD  THE  PROBLEM         15 

iiuich."'^-  The  Social  Service  Year  Book  ( 1916)  of  the  Churches 
says :  "Without  the  more  fundamental  work  of  education,  no  lasting 
result  can  be  achieved"  (p.  145)  ;  and  another  pamphlet  published 
by  the  Federal  Council,  Training  in  Citizenship  for  the  Kingdom, 
says,  "Men  must  be  organized  for  study." 

b)  Social  Intelligence  Necessary. — In  a  pamphlet  published  by 
the  American  Baptist  Publishing  Society,  entitled  A  Social  Program 
for  a  Social  Church,  p.  4,  it  is  said,  "All  permanent  interest  and 
effective  work  in  social  service  must  be  based  upon  clear  knowledge 
of  the  facts."     The  American  Unitarian  Association  affirms  that 

"enthusiasm  does   not   go    far   in    solving   social    problems 

leaders,  both  ministers  and  laymen,  must  be  trained  in  principles 
and  methods. "^-^  The  same  body  admits  the  churches'  efforts  to  im- 
prove the  social  and  industrial  situation  have  so  far  had  little  effect 
because  there  was  an  insufficiency  of  accurate  information  and 
knowledge  of  social  principles  (p.  56).  The  Methodist  Federation 
of  Social  Service  says,  "The  great  task  of  the  social  service  move- 
ment is  still  the  work  of  education."^*  The  Methodist  Church,  in  a 
pamphlet  entitled  Social  Sendee  for  Young  People,  says,  "Service 
to  be  successful  must  be  intelligent.  To  be  intelligent  it  must  be 
based  upon  knowledge  of  accepted  principles."  Study  classes  and 
reading  courses  are  urged.  A  Northern  Baptist  Convention  an- 
nouncement says:  "We  have  learned  that  things  have  causes,  and 
we  do  not  know  anything  till  we  know  its  causes  and  results.  Social 
evils  have  social  causes  and  require  social  remedies.^''  It  is  thus  seen 
that  the  church  recognizes  the  need  of  social  study  to  form  social 
intelligence.  There  is  also  a  need  of  study  to  fulfil  Christian  and 
moral  obligations. 

c)  Need  of  Study  to  Fulfil  Christian  and  Moral  Duties. — "The 
primal  duty  of  the  church  in  social  service  is  to  awaken  the  con- 
sciences of  the  members  to  the  present  situation."  {Studying  for 
Sendee,  pamphlet  issued  by  the  Methodist  Book  Concern.)  "We 
must  teach  men  what  to  do  in  order  to  get  their  family  life,  their 

'■^-Thc  Brotherhood  and  Social  Scn-icc,  pamphlet  issued  by  Methodist 
Brotherhood. 

^^Nincteenth  Anniversary  of  the  American   Unitarian  Association,  p.  54. 

3<Pamphlet,  Suggestions  for  Individual  Service.  Methodist  Federation  of 
Social  Service. 

3'Ward,  op.  cit.,  p.  143. 


1 6         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

community,  their  business,  their  poHtics,  their  industry  on  a  Christian 
basis."    (Batten,  Training  in  Citizenship  for  the  Kingdom,  p.  7.) 

d)  Special  Need  for  the  Study  of  Industrial  Questions. — The 
Federal  Council  recommends  especially  that  "the  study  of  existing 
conditions  in  the  industrial  world  ....  be  more  definitely  enforced 
as  an  immediate  Christian  duty."^^*'  The  Unitarian  Commission  rec- 
ommends that  the  church  pay  particular  attention  in  study  classes  to 
different  phases  of  the  industrial  situation.^''  The  Northern  Baptists 
emphasize  the  need  to  prepare  people  for  life  in  the  industrial  order. 
The  Secretary  of  the  Social  Service  Commission,  Northern  Baptist 
Convention,  says  that  the  church  must  teach  men  how  to  be  in  right 
relations  with  each  other  in  the  mill,  the  factory,  the  city,  etc.^^  The 
Report  of  the  Brotherhood  Council  of  the  Baptist  Church,  191 5, 
emphasizes  need  of  social  study  courses  on  the  industrial  order.^** 
The  same  is  recommended  by  the  Commission  on  Social  Service  of 
the  Congregational  Church,  1913.*" 

It  is  thus  apparent  that  one  of  the  most  important  methods  recog- 
nized by  these  agencies  of  the  church  for  performing  its  duties  rela- 
tive to  the  betterment  of  industrial  conditions  and  social  relations  is 
the  study  of  the  problems  of  capital,  labor  and  industry  in  classes 
and  other  church  bodies.  The  practical  result  of  the  recognition  of 
serious  social  ills  and  problems  and  the  acceptance  of  its  duty  by  the 
Church  is  the  inauguration  and  maintenance  of  social  study  courses 
where  a  high  social  intelligence  and  keen  and  comprehensive  moral 
sense  may  be  inculcated.  Upon  such  high  social  intelligence,  such 
quickened  and  widened  moral  and  social  consciousness  depends,  in 
the  view  of  at  least  the  social  service  bodies  of  the  church,  an  efficient 
society,  Christ-like  in  its  spirit. 

2.    WHO  SHALL  STUDY? 

There  remains  to  be  settled,  however,  the  question  as  to  what 
groups  shall  study  these  matters.  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Gen- 
eral Convention  calls  upon  "every  communicant,  clerical  and  lay, 
seriously  to  take  part  and  to  study  the  complex  conditions  under 

3«r/f(?  Church  and  Modem  Industry,  pamphlet,  p.  19. 

^'The  Report  of  the  Unitarian  Commission,  pamphlet,  p.  6. 

ssBatten,  Training  in  Citizenship,  p.  9. 

^^Rcport  of  Brotherhood  Council,  1915- 

^^Report  of  Commission  on  Social  Service,  Congregational  Church,  1913. 


ATTITUDE  OF  CHURCHES  TOWARD  THE  PROBLEM         17 

which  we  are  called  upon  to  live."*'  The  report  of  the  Unitarian  Com- 
mission advises  adapted  study  classes  for  "children  and  older  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation. "*- 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  regards  the  Sunday  school  as 
the  most  important  agency  for  social  study ."'^  The  Joint  Commission 
on  Social  Service  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church**  has  a  similar 
view.  The  Congregational  Church  recommends  social  study  for  all 
young  people,*"'  and  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention  recommends 
one  or  more  classes  in  social  study  in  every  church.*" 

3.    DIRECT   RECOMMENU.MIONS  TO  CHURCH    TO   I.VTRODUCE  SOCIAL   STUDY 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  urges  "all  the 
members  of  our  church  to  give  serious  study  to  social  problems."*' 

The  Northern  Baptist  Convention  recommends  that  every  church 
have  a  comprehensive  program  of  social  education,*^  and  the  Social 
Service  Commission  of  the  same  body  makes  a  similar  recommenda- 
tion.*'' 

D.    SUMMARY 

The  foregoing,  it  is  believed,  has  served  to  show,  ( i )  the  realiza- 
tion by  many  leaders  in  the  churches  that  there  exist  critical  and 
important  social  problems;  (2)  that  one  of  the  most  important  of 
these  problems  is  that  of  capital  and  labor;  (3)  that  in  the  task  of 
rr.ising  and  advancing  our  society  in  civilization  the  church  must,  if 
she  continue  to  live,  perform  an  important  part;  (4)  that  the  ad- 
vancement of  civilization  and  the  solution  of  social  problems  depend 

*i\Vard,  op.  cit.,  214. 

*-The  Report  of  the  Unitarian  Commission  (Boston  American  Unitarian 
Association),  p.  5. 

<3Ward.  op.  cit.,  150. 

**Social  Service  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  1914. 

*''A  Program  of  Religious  Instruction  in  the  Social  Church,  Commission 
on  Moral  and  Religious  Education,  National  Council  of  Congregational 
Churches,  1915,  p.  16. 

■•M  Five  Years'  Program,  adopted  by  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention. 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.  May  24,  1915. 

*Hl'hat  the  Church  Believes  About  Social  Problems,  issued  by  Presbj'terian 
General  Assembly,  p.  13. 

**'VVard,  op.  cit.,  p.  142. 

*^Report  of  the  Social  Sen-ice  Commission,  Northern  Baptist  Convention. 
1915,  P-  6. 


1 8         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

in  large  measure  upon  the  social  intelligence  and  consciousness  of 
the  mass  of  the  people ;  (5)  that  the  church  has  a  very  large  task  of 
social  education  which  she  should  perform  by  conducting  suit- 
able social  study  classes  in  the  Sunday  schools  and  in  other  church 
bodies  and  societies  adapted  to  such  study ;  (6)  that  serious  attention 
should  be  devoted  in  these  study  classes  to  the  problem  of  capital 
and  labor. 

To  be  sure,  it  may  be  objected  that  the  utterances  quoted  repre- 
sent but  a  small  element  of  the  church.  The  larger  part  of  the  rank 
and  file  may  never  have  heard  of  these  resolutions  adopted  in  con- 
ventions. The  fact,  however,  that  they  are  the  official,  deliberative 
utterances  of  the  most  important  organs  and  representatives  of  the 
church  gives  them  weight.  They  are  presented,  not  as  an  indication 
of  a  movement  of  the  rank  and  file,  but  as  deliberate  expression  on 
the  part  of  the  church  leaders  of  a  movement  in  which  they  have 
announced  themselves  ready  to  engage  actively. 


CHAPTER  III 

GENERAL  DESCRIPTION   OF  EXISTING  SOCIAL  STUDY 
COURSES 

Most  denominations  have  made  beginnings  in  social  study,  but 
as  the  work  is  new  and  of  a  nature  considerably  different  from  any 
attempted  previously,  the  progress  has  not  been  very  rapid  (although 
perhaps  as  marked  as  it  is  reasonable  to  expect).  There  follows  a 
brief  description  of  such  courses  as  are  already  in  use. '  The  treat- 
ment of  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor  in  these  courses  will  be 
considered  in  a  detailed  way  in  a  later  section. 

A.  "the  gospel  of  the  kingdom"  (now  called  "studies  in  social 
progress") 2 

This  is  a  monthly  publication  issued  by  the  American  Institute 
of  Social  Service,  New  York.  It  contains  for  each  Sunday  a  lesson 
on  some  social  subject,  including  Bible  references,  and  a  discussion  of 
a  social  problem  involved  ;  also  numerous  contributions  from  various 
authorities  on  different  phases  of  social  phenomena.  The  publica- 
tion was  begun  in  1908  and  has  continued  until  the  present  time 
(under  the  new  name  since  1917).  The  following  subjects,  directly 
or  indirectly  bearing  upon  capital  and  labor,  are  some  of  those 
treated :  Child  labor,  women  in  industry,  the  organization  of  labor, 
socialism,  immigration,  labor  conditions,  the  humble  and  the  king- 
dom, reduction  of  the  hours  of  labor,  a  release  from  employment  one 
day  in  seven,  a  living  wage,  poverty,  wealth,  eugenics,  etc.  In  addi- 
tion, practically  all  other  social  problems  have  been  given  more  or 
less  attention  in  this  series.  Housing,  the  race  problem,  crime,  in- 
temperance, marriage,  politics,  social  evil,  tuberculosis,  defectives, 
unemployment,  marriage  and  divorce,  peace,  all  have  been  discussed. 
The  former  editor  of  this  series,  the  late  Dr.  Josiah  Strong,  was  a 
man  of  recognized  standing  in  the  sociological  world  (as  is  also  the 
p-esent  editor,  Rudolph  M.  Binder.  Ph.D.). 

iSee  also  Appendix. 
^Publication  discontinued. 

19 


20         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

These  studies  are  used  quite  extensively  by  churches  and  Sunday 
schools,  reaching  in  round  numbers  about  5,000  subscribers.  (Letter 
received  from  the  publishers  by  author  of  this  thesis.)  In  addition 
many  back  numbers  are  distributed  to  classes. 

B.  "social  studies  for  adult  classes  and  brotherhoods"^ 

This  folder,  issued  by  the  Commission  on  Religious  and  Moral 
Education  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention,  gives  lists  of  texts 
for  use  in  social  study,  the  outlines  of  courses  to  be  developed  from 
these  texts,  and  suggestions  for  the  conduct  of  the  courses.  The 
courses  outlined  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  Social  Ethics  of  the  Old  Testament.  (For  Brotherhoods, 
Adult  Classes,  and  Social  Study  Groups.) 

2.  The  Social  Ideals  of  Christ.      (For  Adult  Classes,  Young 
People,  and  Brotherhoods.)     Subjects:  "The  Kingdom  of  God;" 
origin  of  the  idea ;  its  meaning ;  Jesus'  social  and  ethical  teaching  on 
the  kingdom,  sin,  righteousness,  goodness,  service,  wealth,  brother-  ^ 
hood,  wages,  family,  the  church  and  state  reform,  progress,  etc.  ^ 

3.  The  Social  Awakening.  (For  Adult  Classes,  Social  Study 
Classes,  etc.)     A  careful  study  of  the  new  social  awakening. 

4.  The  Principles  of  Social  Service.  (For  Adult  Classes.  Broth- 
erhoods, and  Social  Study  Groups.) 

5.  Social  Institutions.  (For  Adult  Classes,  Men's  Classes,  Social 
Study  Classes,  etc.)  Institutions  studied:  the  family,  eugenics,  the 
church,  the  state,  duties  of  citizens,  the  city,  the  school,  successses 
and  failure,  character-training,  moral  instruction,  the  labor  union, 
the  fraternal  society,  social  and  voluntary  organizations. 

6.  Social  Duties.  (For  Young  People,  Social  Study  Classes, 
Men's  Classes,  etc.) 

Method:  Explanation  of  social  duties,  awakening  of  moral  judg- 
ments, consideration  of  right  and  adjustment  of  social  relations. 

7.  Social  Problems.  (For  Adult  Classes,  Men's  Classes,  Social 
Study  Classes,  etc.).  Problems  to  be  studied  at  first  hand  include  spe- 
cifically impurity,  intemperance,  child  labor,  immigration,  the  city, 
concentration  of  wealth,  etc. 

8.  Social  Activity.  (For  Young  People,  Men's  Classes,  Social 
Study  Classes.)    "The  aim  in  this  course  is  to  awaken  an  interest  in 

3Can  be  obtained  from  Baptist  Department,  Social  Service  and  Brother- 
hood. American  Baptist  Publishing  Society,  1701-1703  Chestnut  Street,  Phila- 
delphia. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES  21 

objects  and  causes  beyond  self ;  to  direct  activity,  study  community 
needs,  etc." 

Topics  relating  to  the  problems  of  capital  and  labor  are  included 
in  the  outlines  of  several  of  the  courses.  "Social  Ideals  of  Christ" 
mentions  wealth,  brotherhood  and  wages ;  the  texts  suggested  are : 
Mathews,  The  Social  Gospel  and  The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus; 
Stead,  The  Kingdom  of  God,  Part  III,  and  Henderson,  Social  Duties 
from  a  Christian  Point  of  View. 

"The  Principles  of  Social  Service"  discusses  among  other  themes 
"Social  Service  and  Industry."  No  published  reference  texts  are 
given. 

"Social  Institutions"  includes  a  study  of  the  labor  union,  meaning 
of  labor  and  the  history  of  labor  organizations,  giving  the  following 
references :  certain  volumes  of  the  "Social  Service  Series ;"  Thomp- 
son, The  Divine  Order  of  Human  Society;  Westcott,  Social  Aspects 
of  Christianity ;  Batten,  The  Christian  State;  Devine,  The  Family  and 
Social  Work;  Sears,  The  Redemption  of  the  City;  Earp,  Social 
Aspects  of  Religious  Institutions. 

The  course  on  Social  Duties  considers,  among  other  topics,  "just 
and  unjust  relations  between  workers  and  employers,"  recommending 
as  a  further  discussion  of  the  topic  Henderson's  Social  Duties  from 
the  Christian  Point  of  Viezv. 

Course  7  on  "Social  Problems"  includes  "Women's  Labor," 
"Monopoly,"  "Concentration  of  Wealth,"  "Poverty,"  "The  Rest 
Day,"  "Socialism,"  and  "Industrial  Peace."  References  given  are : 
Volumes  of  "Social  Service  Series,"*  Strong's  Gospel  of  the  King- 
dom, Ellwood's  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  and  Stelzle, 
American  Moral  and  Social  Conditions. 

The  manner  in  which  industrial  problems  are  presented  in  the 
aforementioned  texts  will  be  described  in  the  following  section  on 
"Methods  of  Treatment."  Most  of  them  being  written  from  the 
evangelical  point  of  view  are  considered  under  "Religious  or  Evan- 
gelical Treatment" ;  but  Henderson's  Social  Duties  from  a  Christian 
Point  of  Vieic,  together  with  the  volumes  from  the  "Social  Service 
Series"  are  discussed  in  the  section  entitled  "Treatment  from  the 
Standpoint  of  Applied  Sociology  and  Social  Legislation." 

••See  page  47  for  discussion  of  these  pamphlets  issued  by  the  Northern 
Baptist  Convention.  -  -  - 


22  CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

c.  "friends'  first-day  school  graded  lessons"^ 

These  are  a  series  of  brief  booklets  treating  current  social  prob- 
lems, such  as  the  family,  aspects  of  law  and  morality,  the  labor  prob- 
lem, immigration,  wages,  race  problem,  marriage  and  divorce,  taxa- 
tion, the  care  of  the  poor,  public  education,  public  health  and  safety, 
the  drink  question,  etc.  Somewhat  like  the  "Gospel  of  the  Kingdom 
Series,"  they  give  references  to  the  scripture  and  a  brief  discussion 
oi  the  subject. 

d.  social  service  pamphlets  issued  by  the  social  service 
commission  of  the  northern  baptist  convention® 

This  is  a  series  of  neatly  bound  pamphlets  varying  from  20  to  100 
pages,  each  dealing  with  some  social  problem.  The  general  groups 
treated  are:  i.  The  church  and  the  family;  2.  The  church  and 
wealth  and  industry.  Under  the  latter  subject  the  following  pam- 
phlets have  been  issued:  C.  R.  Henderson,  A  Reasonable  Social 
Policy  for  Christian  People;  C.  R.  Henderson,  Workingmen's  Insur- 
ance; Charles  Stelzle,  The  Church  and  the  Labor  Movement;  Mary 
Lathrop  Goss,  Welfare  Work  by  Corporations;  Owen  R.  Lovejoy, 
Child  Labor;  O.  C.  Horseman,  One  Day  Rest  in  Seven;  Scott  Near- 
ing.  Women  in  American  Industry;  Prof.  C.  S.  Gardner,  The  Accu- 
mulation of  Wealth. 

Other  main  groups  are :  3.  The  community  and  the  church ; 
4.  The  church  and  politics,  and  5.  The  church  and  social  waste.  The 
series  is  used  in  social  study  classes,  but  more  extensively  as  small 
reference  books  for  church  workers. 

e.  unitarian  social  service  series^ 

This  group  is  a  series  of  pamphlets  similar  to  those  issued  by  the 
Social  Service  Commission  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention.  Up 
to  1917  there  had  been  published  about  35  neatly  bound  pamphlets, 
averaging  from  50  to  125  pages  each,  and  written  by  authors  of 
recognized  standing.  A  communication  from  the  American  Unita- 
rian Association  states  that  they  are  used  in  churches  quite  consider- 

"Published  by  Friends'  General  Conference,  Central  Bureau,  150  North 
15th  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

^Published  by  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  1701-1703  Chestnut 
St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

''Published  by  American  Unitarian  Association,  25  Beacon  St.,  Boston, 
Mass. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES  23 

ably,  although  the  exact  number  of  classes  is  not  known.  The  indus- 
trial problems  dealt  with  are :  A  Remedy  for  Industrial  Warfare,  by 
Charles  W.  Eliot ;  Some  Unsettled  Questions  about  Child  Labor, 
Owen  R.  Lovejoy  ;  The  Democracy  of  the  Kingdom,  Rt.  Rev.  Charles 
D.  Williams,  D.D. ;  A  Practical  Platform  for  Social  Progress,  Charles 

F.  Dole. 

F.    POVERTY  AND  WEALTH,  BY  HARRY  F.  WARD.      (1916) 

Poverty  and  Wealth  is  a  popular  text,  treating  in  a  clear  sane 
way  the  following  subjects :  Destitution  and  its  relief,  disease,  desti- 
tution and  poverty,  moral  causes  of  poverty,  the  question  of  low  in- 
comes, luxury,  unjust  wealth,  the  effects  of  poverty,  lessening  poverty 
by  increasing  efficiency,  the  attack  on  poverty  by  remedial  measures. 
the  question  of  distribution,  the  control  of  natural  resources.  There 
is  given  a  good  bibliography.  The  book  is  small  and  compact  (132 
pages),  but  is  full  of  information.  Each  topic  is  taken  up  as  a 
lesson,  with  scripture  references  and  questions.  This  text  has  been 
endorsed  by  conferences  of  the  Methodist  church  and  its  use  is  being 
rapidly  extended,  although  it  is  not  known  how  many  classes  are 
using  it. 

G.  CHRISTIANIZING  COMMUNITY  LIFE,   II.  F.  WARD  AND  R.  H.  EDWARDS 

A  recent  social  study  text,  successful  particularly  in  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
classes,  is  that  of  H.  F.  Ward  and  R.  H.  Edwards,  entitled  Christian- 
izing Community  Life  (Association  Press,  1917).  It  follows  an  out- 
line prepared  by  a  sub-committee  on  college  courses  of  the  Sunday 
School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations,  and  Committee  on 
Voluntary  Study  of  the  Council  of  North  American  Student  Move- 
ments.   The  contents  are  as  follows  : 

i.  The  World-Wide  Community  Task 

ii.  The  Family  at  the  Center 
iii.  The  Child  in  the  Midst 
iv.  Training  for  Full  Efficiency 

V.  Restoring  the  Weak 
vi.  Protecting  the  Worker 
vii.  Industrial  Democracy, 
viii.  Establishing  Equal  Justice 
ix.  Good  Government 

X.  Overthrowing  the  Common  Enemy 
xi.  Making  the  Church  Christian 
xii.  The  Commonwealth  of  God 


24          CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

Chapter  vi,  "Protecting  the  Worker,"  has  these  sub-divisions : 
Getting  a  Right  Attitude  toward  the  Worker,  The  Value  of  Life,  The 
Workers  Want  a  Chance  at  Life,  A  Rest  Day  Helps,  Who  Gets  Too 
Much?  (The  latter  question  is  left  unanswered.)  As  the  topics 
suggest,  ethical  considerations  rather  than  the  economics  of  the 
schools  are  emphasized.  They  are  all  treated  in  Dr.  Ward's  char- 
acteristic, sympathetic  jnanner,  and  from  the  same  point  of  view  as 
other  texts  of  his  to  be  examined  later  in  this  paper  (see  pages  65  ff). 

Chapter  vii,  "Industrial  Democracy,"  includes  the  following 
topics :  Wanted :  More  than  a  Full  Dinner-pail,  and  Recognition  of 
Human  Values.  It  suggests  the  extension  of  industrial  control  to  all 
the  workers ;  the  strong  should  be  the  ministers,  and  the  workers  the 
owners.  On  the  basis  of  the  text  Isaiah  65  :  17,  "They  shall  not  build 
and  another  inhabit,"  the  question  is  asked.  Can  such  a  social  order 
involve  anything  less  than  that  the  workers  shall  also  be  owners? 
Obviously,  labor  organizations  are  favored. 

H.    THE    INTERNATIONAL   SUNDAY    SCHOOL   LESSONS.      GRADED    SERIES. 
SENIOR  COURSE 

These  are  outlines  of  courses  issued  for  the  Sunday  school  by  the 
International  Lesson  Committee.  The  series  was  first  published 
August  4,  191 5.  Each  denomination  generally  supplies  its  own  text 
on  the  outlines,  since  the  latter  give  only  the  subjects  to  be  treated 
and  the  scripture  references.  The  following  subjects  are  included  in 
the  series  (i)  The  Family  (5  lessons)  ;  (2)  The  Community  (6  les- 
sons) ;  (3)  The  State  (6  lessons)  ;  (4)  The  Church  (6  lessons)  ; 
(5)  The  Industrial  Order  (12  lessons)  ;  (6)  Bible  Spokesmen  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  (12 lessons). 

The  fifth  group  comprises  certain  sub-divisions :  Work  a  Law  of 
Life  ;  Work  as  a  Social  Service ;  The  Specialization  of  Work;  Social- 
ized Industry ;  The  Return  for  Labor ;  The  Right  Use  of  Money ; 
Ownership,  Partnership  in  Industry;  A  Worthy  Task;  Relating 
One's  Self  to  the  Industrial  Order,  Improving  Industrial  Conditions  ; 
Christ  and  the  Industrial  Order. 

Following  the  outline  of  this  series  two  texts  have  lately  been 
written,  both  entitled  The  Bible  and  Social  Living,  one  being  pub- 
lished by  the  Methodist  Book  Concern,  the  other  by  the  Baptist  Pub- 
lication Society.    These  will  be  more  fully  described  on  later  pages. 

A  similar  outline  is  now  (1918)  about  ready  for  adult  classes. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES  25 

As  has  probably  been  observed  in  the  preceding  descriptions, 
otlier  social  subjects  have  considerably  more  treatment  than  the  prob- 
lem of  Capital  and  Labor.  There  seems  to  have  been  some  tendency 
to  avoid  as  far  as  possible  this  knotty  problem,  and  to  devote  more 
attention  to  matters  that  might  arouse  less  difference  of  opinion.  In 
view  of  the  importance  given  to  it  in  the  official  utterances  of  the 
churches,  however,  it  has  inevitably  received  some  attention  in  the 
studies  just  described,  in  fact  sufficient  to  reveal  a  method  of 
treatment. 

All  of  the  studies  and  texts  therein  used  have  been  carefully 
examined  by  the  writer,  wherever  the  subject  of  capital  and  labor,  or 
subjects  closely  related,  were  treated. 

NOTE 

The  Joint  Commission  on  Social  Service  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  has  projected  the  following  series,  although  as  yet  only  part  of 
the  Hot  has  been  published : 
What  is  Social   Service? 

I.    SOCI.XL  STUDY  OF  THE  BIBLE 

The  Social  Teaching  of  the  Prophets 

Social  Legislation  in  the  Old  Testament 

The  Relation  of  Church  and  State  in  the  Old  Testament 

The  Social  Significance  of  the  Gospels 

The  Social  Significance  of  the  Other  New  Testament  Writings 

II.    SOCIAL  STUDY  OF  CHURCH   HISTORY 

Social  Aspects  of  Church  History :  The  Early  Period 
Social  Aspects  of  Church  History :  The  Medieval  Period 
Social  Aspects  of  Church  History:  Since  the  Reformation 

III.    THE   MODERN   SOCIAL  PROBLEM 

Tlio  Twofold  Nature  of  the  Modern  Social  Problem :  A  Problem  of 
Ultimate  Reconstruction  and  a  Problem  of  Immediate  Amelioration 

The  Industrial  or  Urban  Community:  Concentration  of  Population: 
Housing 

The  Problem  of  Labor :  Wages 

The  Problem  of  Labor:  Hours  and  Conditions 

The  Problem  of  Labor :  Unemployment 

Industrial  Solutions:  Trade  Unionism 

Industrial  Solutions :  Socialism 

Industrial  Solutions:  Syndicalism 


26  CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

h 

Industrial  Solutions :  The  Co-operative  Movement ;   Co-partnership  and  , 

Profit  Sharing;  Scientific  Management 
Industrial  Disputes:  Strikes,  Lockouts,  etc. 
The  Problem  of  the  Agricultural  or  Rural  Community:  Segregation  of 

Population 
The  Church's  Relation  to  Better  Farming:  "No  flourishing  Church  on 

impoverished  soil." 
The  Church's  Relation  to  the  Improvement  of  Rural  Living  Conditions, 

Recreation,  and  Education 
The  Problem  of  the  Suburban  Community 
The  Problem  of  Immigration 
The  Problem  of  Recreation 
The  Problem  of  Social  Waste 
Social  Legislation 

IV.    METHODS  OF  SERVICE 

Social  Agencies 

How  the  Episcopal  Church  Works  in  the  Social  Field 
The  Three  Principles  of  Social  Action  by  the  Parish 
Education  for  Service 


CHAPTER  IV 

METHODS  OF  TRE.\TIXG  THE  PROBLEM  OF  CAPITAL  AND 
LABOR 

A.    INTRODUCTION 

The  method  of  treating  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor  in  the 
foregoing  courses  will  be  provisionally  classified  in  three  groups,  as 
follows  •} 

1.  Religious  or  Evangelical  Treatment.  This  stresses  the  relig- 
ious point  of  view,  and  is  found  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  texts 
recommended  for  adult  classes  in  Folder  No.  3  of  the  Committee  on 
Religious  and  Moral  Education  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention, 
including  the  following : 

Mathews,  The  Social  Gospel 

Mathews,  The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus 

Rauschenbusch,  Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis 

Batten,  The  Social  Task  of  Christianity 

Batten,  The  Christian  State 

Peabody,  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question 

Strong,  The  Next  Great  Azvakening 

Gladden,  The  Church  and  Modern  Society 

Thompson,  The  Divine  Order  of  Human  Society 

Williams,  Democracy  and  the  Kingdom 

2.  Treatment  from  the  Standpoint  of  Applied  Sociology  or  of 
Social  Legislation.  This  does  not  stress  the  religious  point  of  view, 
but  rather  presents  the  problem  as  a  plain  statement  of  conditions 
and  a  discussion  of  sociological  and  legislative  programs  for  im- 
provement.   The  following  texts  are  representative : 

Henderson,  Social  Duties  from  a  Christian  Point  of  View 
Ward,  Social  Creed  of  the  Churches 
Ellwood,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems 

(In  Social  Studies  recommended  by  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention.) 
Social  Service  Pamphlets  issued  by  the  Social  Service  Commission  of 
the  Northern  Baptist  Convention. 

iJt  is  not  claimed  that  the  texts  put  into  one  group  do  not  employ  more  or 
less  the  methods  of  texts  classified  in  another  group.  The  classification  is 
based  on  prcdominaimg  tendencies  of  treatment. 


28         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

Unitarian  Social  Service  Series 

Friends'  First  Day  School  Graded  Lessons 

3.  Treatment  Essaying  a  Combination  of  the  First  Tivo  Methods. 
Here  we  find  scriptural  lessons  used  as  a  basis,  and,  although  the 
religious  point  of  view  is  emphasized,  there  is  a  distinct  attempt  to 
fuse  with  it  present  day  sociological  data  and  programs.  This  method 
is  illustrated  by : 

Ward,  H.  F. :  Poverty  and  Wealth. 

"The  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  and  Studies  in  Social  Progress." 

"The  Bible  and  Social  Living"  texts  (both  Methodist  and  Baptist). 

In  the  pages  to  follow,  each  of  these  groups  will  be  more  fully 
described,  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  justify  the  grouping  used,  and 
the  treatment  given  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor  in  each  group 
will  be  outlined  and  discussed. 

B.     RELIGIOUS  OR  EVANGELICAL  TREATMENT 
I.    INTRODUCTION 

The  books  illustrative  of  this  treatment  are  all  written  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  church,  and  assume  that  Christianity  is  the  one 
saving  power  of  society.  It  is  the  application  of  Christian  principles 
to  present  conditions  and  problems  that  is  seen  as  the  adequate 
method  of  meeting  the  same.  The  problem  of  Capital  and  Labor  is 
not  given  special,  extended,  and  systematic  treatment,  but  wherever 
considered  it  appears  as  a  problem  of  moral  and  spiritual  issues. 
Our  discussion  of  this  treatment  is  divided  into  two  parts — "Descrip- 
tion in  Social  Study  Texts  of  Present  Conditions"  and  "Teaching  in 
Social  Study  Courses  regarding  these  Conditions."  Of  course  the 
subject  is  taken  up  in  various  orders  in  the  different  texts,  but  the 
data  have  been  gathered  from  all  and  arranged  in  the  above  order 
for  the  purpose  of  analysis. 

2.    DESCRIPTION   OF   PRESENT  CONDITIONS    IN    TEXTS 

Considerable  attention  is  given  to  the  presentation  of  the  facts 
of  social  loss  and  distress  in  present  society.  These  descriptions 
awaken  the  lively  sympathy  and  oftentimes  the  indignation  of  the 
student  because  such  conditions  exist.  Since  a  careful  review  is 
manifestly  impossible  in  this  thesis,  there  will  be  noted  in  the  follow- 
ing sections  representative  statements  concerning  some  of  the  more 
important  conditions. 


METHODS  OF  TREA  TING  THE  PROBLEM  29 

a)  Poverty 

There  is  abundance  for  all  in  this  country  (Christianity  and  the 
Social  Crisis,  p.  214;  Church  and  Modern  Life,  p.  141  ;  Our  World, 
p.  152),  but  in  spite  of  this  fact  there  exist  appalling  poverty  and 
suffering  among  large  classes  of  the  population.  In  London  the  class 
in  poverty  is  30  per  cent  of  the  total  (Social  Task  of  the  Churches, 
p.  41 )  ;  4,000,000  persons  are  dependent  on  public  relief  in  the  United 
States  (Christianity  and  Social  Crisis). 

(i)  Frequent  references  to  low  wages  and  long  hours  of  work- 
ingmen  and  to  child  labor  occur  in  these  studies. 

(2)  Subjection  of  the  Poor. — "If  you  are  poor  and  rendering 
service,  you  must  be  modest,  polite,  humble,  and  even  subservient  in 
your  demeanor.  But  if  you  are  rich,  perhaps  idle  and  useless  to 
society,  you  are  above  the  rule  of  manners."  (Democracy  of  the 
Kingdom,  p.  9.)  IThe  entire  industrial  life  is  a  reign  of  fear.  (Chris- 
tianity and  Social  Crisis,  p.  295.) 

(3)  Contrasts  between  Wealth  and  Poverty. — The  assertions 
that  the  poor  are  poor  through  their  own  fault  are  lies  dressed  up  in 
truth.  {Christianity  and  Social  Crisis,  p.  350.)  Popular  discontent 
is  created  because,  with  unprecedented  increase  of  wealth,  the  poor 
are  ground  down  to  bare  existence.  [Our  World,  p,  152.)  Division 
of  classes  causes  dissatisfaction.     {Social  Gospel,  p.  99.) 

(4)  Distress  among  Wage-earners. — Much  attention  is  given  to 
showing  continued  distress  among  wage-earners,  but  the  three  fol- 
lowing extracts  are  typical : 

Men  are  discovering  that  society  is  poor  and  miserable  and  naked  and 
destitute ;  they  are  discovering  that  many  members  of  the  race  are  grow- 
ing up  in  conditions  which  practically  make  impossible  a  full  and  worthy 
and  human  life.  They  are  finding  that  many  persons  are  really  disin- 
herited by  society,  and  have  no  real  heritage  in  life:  they  are  finding  that, 
through  the  toils  and  sacrifices  of  the  generation  past,  society  has  come 
into  a  vast  heritage  of  achievement  and  resources ;  and  yet,  through  neg- 
lect on  the  part  of  many  or  through  fraud  on  the  part  of  some,  this  great 
heritage  has  fallen  into  few  hands  and  the  great  mass  of  people  have  no 
fair  share  of  it.- 

The  cries  of  millions  of  overworked,  underfed,  pale-faced  men  and 
women  and  children  have  entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth. 

2S.  Z.  Batten,  The  Social  Task  of  Christianity  (F.  H.  Revell  Co..  191 0. 

P-  35- 


30         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

There  ought  not  to  be  any  poor  people  in  this  country.     If  it  were  a 
thoroughly  Christian  country,  there  would  not  be.^ 

You  remember  William  Dean  Howells'  dream  of  the  fete  champetre, 
wherein  society,  arrayed  in  its  best,  was  dancing  upon  the  greensward 
spotted  with  red  daisies.  But  upon  closer  scrutiny  the  greensward  proved 
to  be  compacted  of  livid  human  faces,  men  and  women  and  little  children, 
and  the  red  daisies  were  spots  and  gouts  of  human  blood  where  the  sharp 
heels  of  the  careless  dancers  struck  into  the  living  flesh.  That  picture  is 
not  untrue  to  much  of  our  fashionable  society  life.* 

(5)  Bitterness  among  the  Poor. — There  is  space  for  but  one 
extract,  but  several  of  these  texts  recognize  the  bitterness  among  the 
poor. 

I  have  gone  much  among  the  people  of  the  alleys  and  the  slums,  even 
the  so-called  anarchists  and  socialists;  and  I  have  found  that  frequently 
to  them  the  men  of  the  offices  and  the  women  of  the  mansions  were  not 
real  human  beings  with  the  same  red  blood  in  their  veins  that  flowed  in 
their  own,  people  who  loved  and  hated  and  had  children,  but  artificial 
beings,  frankensteins,  creatures  of  iron  and  steel,  taskmasters,  the  instru- 
ments of  their  exploitation,  or  the  idle  appropriators  and  enjoyers  of  the 
fruits  of  their  toil.^ 

(6)  Evil  Effects  of  Poverty. — Unemployment  drives  to  drink, 
pauperism,  lack  of  self-respect.  {Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis, 
p.  238.) 

(7)  Lack  of  Opportunity  of  Poor. — The  texts  recognize  more  or 
less  the  lack  of  opportunity  among  the  poor.  Some  are  socialistic, 
as  the  following: 

A  large  proportion  of  the  population  in  the  prevailing  state  of  society 
take  part  in  the  rivalry  of  life  only  under  conditions  which  absolutely  pre- 
clude them,  whatever  their  natural  merit  or  ability,  from  any  real  chance 
therein.  They  come  into  the  world  and  find  the  best  positions  not  only 
already  filled,  but  practically  occupied  in  perpetuity.  For,  under  the  great 
body  of  rights  which  wealth  has  inherited  from  feudalism,  we,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  allow  the  wealthy  classes  to  retain  control  of  these 
positions  generation  after  generation,  to  the  permanent  exclusion  of  the 
rest  of  the  people.^ 

^Church  and  Modern  Life,  p.  141. 

^Williams,  The  Democracy  of  the  Kingdom. 

^Ibid.,  p.  9. 

^''Social  Task  of  Christianity."  Quoted  from  Kidd,  Social  Evolution, 
P-  35. 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  31 

Discussio)i. — The  foregoing  brings  out  vividly  one  element  in 
the  religious  method  of  treatment  in  the  social  study  courses — the 
strong  appeal  to  sympathy  and  a  sense  of  justice,  a  statement  of  con- 
ditions so  made  as  to  arouse  in  any  normal  man  the  vivid  sympathy 
and  moral  indignation  that  such  conditions  are  allowed  to  exist. 
Instinctively  one  asks,  "Whose  fault  is  it?"  realizing  that,  stronger 
than  any  nice  reasoning  and  logic  of  the  "classicists,"  is  the  insistent 
deep  sense  that  something  is  wrong  and  ought  to  be  righted. 

b)   Wealth 

General  inequality  and  dangers  of  too  great  concentration  of 
wealth  are  the  subject  of  the  greater  part  of  the  description  under 
this  heading.  Striking  facts  are  presented  in  proof  of  the  existing 
inequality. 

(i)  Distribution  of  Wealth. — Two  per  cent  of  the  people  in  the 
United  States  own  60  per  cent  of  the  wealth,  33  per  cent  own  95  per 
cent  of  the  wealth,  and  65  per  cent  own  5  per  cent  of  the  wealth. 
{The  Living  Wage  a  Religious  Necessity,  p.  18.)  Other  similar  facts 
are  given. 

(2)  Complacency  of  Wealth. — One  citation  follows: 

I  have  gone  much  among  the  men  and  women  of  the  offices  and  the 
avenues,  and  I  have  found  that  to  them  often  the  people  of  the  slums  and 
alleys  were  not  real,  human  beings  at  all,  made  of  the  same  human  clay, 
with  the  same  human  feelings  and  passions  in  their  hearts,  the  same 
motives  and  aspirations,  to  be  measured  and  judged  by  the  same  stand- 
ards; but  they  were  only  the  hands  that  did  the  work,  the  tools  of  their 
industries  and  service,  or  the  recipients  of  their  charities,  the  mud-sills, 
sunk  out  of  sight  and  out  of  mind,  which  supported  the  fabric  of  society 
in  which  they  disported  themselves  pleasantly  and  carelessly.' 

(3)  Autocracy  of  Wealth. — The  following  passage  will  suffice  to 
indicate  the  opinion  concerning  the  autocracy  of  wealth  expressed  in 
one  of  the  representative  texts  of  the  study  courses : 

The  simple  facts  of  the  case  are  that  a  few  men,  by  the  use  of  great 
skill  and  large  capital,  are  getting  control  of  the  means  of  production 
and  distribution  and  are  fastening  upon  the  necks  of  the  people  an  indus- 
trial autocracy  more  irresponsible  and  tyrannical  than  the  world  has  ever 
known.* 

''The  Democracy  of  the  Kingdom,  p.  7. 

^The  Christian  State,  p.  7.  A  similar  view  is  expressed  in  'Our  H'orld" 
(p.  141),  "Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis"  (p.  400/) 


32          CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

c)  Social  Classes 
The  existence  of  social  classes  is  generally  recognized. 

( 1 )  Recognition  of  Classes. — "We  have  our  proprietary  and  ex- 
propriated classes,  the  owners  and  the  owned."  (Democracy  of  the 
Kingdom,  p.  3.)  "The  existence  of  at  least  two  distinct  classes  is 
inherent  in  the  nature  of  capitalistic  organization  of  industry." 
(Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis,  p.  219.)  "In  time  we  shall  have 
three  layers  of  population  on  the  land."  (Christianity  and  the  Social 
Crisis,  p.  225.)  "More  and  more  the  industrial  world  finds  itself 
occupied  by  two  armed  camps."  (Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Ques- 
tion, p.  269.) 

(2)  Description  of  Conditions. — Between  capital  and  labor  is  a 
war  (Our  World,  p.  124)  ;  the  range  of  opportunity  in  industrial  and 
social  life  is  steadily  narrowing  for  the  great  majority  of  men  (Chris- 
tian State,  p.  230).  The  capitalistic  system  as  it  now  is  will  lead  to 
increasing  estrangement  between  classes  (Our  World,  p.  124). 

Summary. — The  social  study  courses  of  this  group  contend  that 
at  the  present  time,  though  there  is  a  natural  abundance  for  every- 
one, nevertheless  a  large  proportion  of  the  population  is  in  constant 
misery,  want,  and  suffering  because  of  low  wages,  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  wealth  of  the  country  is  in  the  hands  of  a  comparatively 
small  class,  and  that  there  is  much  dissatisfaction  and  bitterness 
because  of  this  unequal  distribution  of  wealth.  The  conditions  pre- 
sented are  so  serious  as  to  call  for  the  most  careful  and  sincere 
thought.  No  one  dare  remain  indififerent  in  the  face  of  facts  such 
as  have  been  presented.  We  might  expect  that  with  the  description 
of  such  serious  conditions  there  would  be  given  the  most  careful 
analysis  of  the  causes  and  reasons  for  this  distress  and  economic 
inequality.  We  might  expect  that  these  problems  which  are  at  least 
in  part  economic  would  receive  a  treatment  that  would  include  what- 
ever insight  the  science  of  economics  is  able  to  give.  We  shall  there- 
fore next  consider  the  teachings  in  these  texts  in  regard  to  the  condi- 
tions so  vividly  presented,  examining  first  their  economic  treatment. 

3.    TEACHINGS   IN   EVANGELICAL  GROUP  OF   SOCIAL   STUDY   IN   REGARD   TO  ■^,- 

CONDITIONS  PRESENTED 

a)  Economic  Treatment 
(i)  Although  we  might  have  expected,  after  the  description  of 
appalling  industrial  conditions  contained  in  this  group  of  social  serv- 
ice texts,  a  careful  economic  treatment  of  the  causes  of  these  condi- 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM 


33 


tions,  we  find  scarcely  any  reference  to  economic  knowledge  or 
economic  principles.  This  may  be  due  to  several  causes.  The  cler- 
ical scholars  who  have  written  the  majority  of  the  texts  may  be 
unfamiliar  with  economics,  or  there  may  be  general  distrust  of  a 
science  that,  after  decades  of  activity,  is  apparently  unable  to  oflfer 
means  whereby  the  present  distress  can  be  prevented.  It  may  be 
the  feeling  that  economics,  with  its  principle  of  self-interest,  has 
nothing  in  common  with  the  altruism  of  Christianity.  At  any  rate, 
there  is  a  remarkable  lack  of  economic  method  in  these  courses  which 
are  dealing  with  subjects  supposed  to  be  at  least  partially  economic. 
We  may  examine  the  courses,  however,  to  see  if  they  have  any 
material  regarding  some  of  the  more  important  economic  categories. 

(2)  and  (3)  Capital  and  Interest. — There  is  no  treatment  of  the 
nature  of  capital,  the  necessity  for  its  existence  in  an  advanced 
society,  or  the  manner  in  which  it  arises.  Neither  is  there  any  sug- 
gestion given  as  to  how  it  is  maintained  nor  how  it  might  be  main- 
tained in  other  ways. 

Although  the  capitalistic  classes  undoubtedly  derive  their  incomes 
largely  from  interest,  and  although  interest  is  one  of  the  chief  char- 
acteristics of  modern  social  organization,  the  student  of  these  texts 
derives  practically  no  information  regarding  its  nature  and  operation. 
If  the  leisure  class  is  able  to  live  in  luxury  because  of  interest,  and 
the  laboring  class  apparently  is  reduced  to  small  wages  largely  be- 
cause of  the  necessity  for  paying  large  dividends  (interest),  it  would 
seem  that  in  any  consideration  of  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor 
attention  might  be  given  to  this  nexus  of  the  problem.  The  foregoing 
texts,  however,  do  not  treat  this  subject  which  occupies  so  large  an 
amount  of  space  in  economic  literature. 

Nevertheless,  there  are  reasons  why  the  nature  of  capital  and 
interest  should  not  be  discussed  in  these  texts.  The  greatest  dis- 
agreement exists  among  economists  concerning  their  true  nature. 
They  are  still  the  subject  of  inquiry.  They  occupy  the  same  position 
in  the  world  of  social  science,  perhaps,  as  does  cancer  in  the  world 
of  medicine.  None  of  the  several  theories  advanced  has  been  estab- 
lished to  the  general  satisfaction  of  all  students.  Furthermore,  it  is 
a  serious  problem  to  know  what  acceptable  explanations  of  capital 
and  interest  may  be  given  in  courses  whose  students  include  both 
classes  affected.  Perhaps  the  wisest  plan  is  to  state  the  simple  truth, 
that  here  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance  whose  nature  is  still 
not  adequately  known  by  those  who  have  long  investigated  it.    This 


34         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

method,  it  seems,  would  be  better  than  practically  ignoring  it,  or 
adopting  some  radical  theory  simply  for  the  sake  of  having  one.  It 
is  far  better  to  admit  ignorance  than  to  ignore  that  about  which  we 
have  inadequate  knowledge,  better  also  to  admit  ignorance  than  to 
formulate  a  "snap"  theory.  As  will  be  indicated  later,  the  teaching 
of  the  known  facts  relating  to  these  problems  may  be  of  decisive 
significance,  and  point  the  way  to  an  eventual  definition  and  descrip- 
tion of  capital  and  interest. 

(4)  Wages. — The  economic  consideration  of  wages  receives  only 
slight  attention.  Professor  Rauschenbusch,  in  Christianity  and  the 
Social  Crisis,  derives  a  law  of  wages  which  he  expresses  as  follows : 

If  a  man  is  poor  or  if  he  has  a  large  family  he  can  be  induced  to  take 
less.  If  he  is  devoted  to  his  family  and  if  they  are  sick  he  may  take  still 
less.  The  less  he  needs  the  more  he  can  get ;  the  more  he  needs  the  less 
he  will  get.^ 

(5)  Rent. — This  subject  receives  scarcely  any  economic  treat- 
ment and  the  student  remains  uninformed  concerning  the  reasons  for 
rent.  The  topic  of  land  reform  appears  in  different  texts,  but  there 
is  no  agreement  of  opinion  regarding  it.  In  one  of  the  older  texts, 
The  Divine  Order  of  Human  Society,  p.  140,  it  is  stated  that  the 
"land  reformers  would  cut  the  tap-root  of  the  family,"  while  A 
Practical  Program  for  Social  Reform,  p.  39,  suggests  "it  may  be 
necessary  to  alter  our  land  system  to  cure  unemployment"  ;  to  give  all 
the  people  more  natural  access  to  the  land  is  regarded  as  a  possibly 
necessary  step  in  this  direction. 

b)  Moral  and  Spiritual  Issues 

(i)  General. — If  the  economic  treatment  of  the  factors  involved 
in  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor  is,  perhaps,  deficient,  the  moral 
and  spiritual  factors  are  given  elaborate  attention.  In  the  exami- 
nation of  these  factors  two  main  considerations  are  to  be  kept  in 
mind:  (a)  Are  the  moral  principles  stated  in  a  manner  intelligible 
to  the  modern  man,  and  (b)  Are  they  made  applicable  to  definite 
situations,  or  is  such  applicability  indicated?  For  example,  if  such 
a  principle  as  justice  is  recommended  to  solve  the  present  industrial 
difficulties,  is  the  student  shown  exactly  how  this  principle  may  be 
applied  in  particular  and  general  complex  social  situations  of  the 

^Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis,  p.  231. 


I 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  35 

present  day  ?  With  these  queries  in  mind  we  may  examine  the  moral 
and  spiritual  treatment  of  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor  in  the 
social  study  courses  which  emphasize  the  religious  point  of  view. 

(2)  Moral  and  Spiritual  Nature  of  Problem. — The  problem  of 
capital  and  labor  is  regarded  as  essentially  moral  rather  than  eco- 
nomic. {The  Social  Gospel,  p.  85;  The  Next  Great  Azvakening,  p. 
199.)  It  cannot  be  settled  until  men  emphasize  duties  rather  than 
rights  (Ibid.,  p.  199.)  "The  chief  difficulty  with  modern  social  life 
....  is  not  a  mechanical  difficulty,  but  a  social  fault."  (Jesus 
Christ  and  the  Social  Question.) 

The  studies  take  the  position  that  the  whole  question  needs  to  be 
lifted  above  the  economic  plane.  The  Christian  aim  is  not  "to  make 
the  poor  rich,"  but  "to  make  the  bad  good."  {Jesus  Christ  and  the 
Social  Question,  p.  294.)  "Industrial  life  must  be  lifted  to  the  level 
of  moral  opportunity  and  taken  in  hand  as  a  trust  from  God."  {Ibid.) 
"jesus  counts  on  character  to  bring  about  economic  transformation." 
{Ibid.,  p.  295.)  "The  teaching  of  Jesus  begins  with  a  sense  of  spir- 
itual need  and  ends  with  the  idea  of  a  spiritual  kingdom."  {Ibid.,  p. 
294.)  "The  Christian  principle  of  love  must  become  increasingly 
supreme  in  our  economic  world."     {The  Social  Gospel,  p.  85.) 

These  statements  combine  a  social  impulse  with  a  bit  of  mysti- 
cism. The  first  impulse  which  recognizes  so-called  economic 
problems  as  fundamentally  social  problems  is  in  line  with  recent 
developments  in  economic  thought  which  are  expressed  by  Dr. 
Amonn  who  finds  the  content  of  the  economic  problem  not  in  ma- 
terial versus  psychic  nature  (goods  versus  wants),  but  in  its  social 
nature.^*^ 

The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  the  above  citations  from  the 
study  courses  is  seemingly  that  the  economic  problem  must  be  re- 
garded primarily  as  social  rather  than  as  a  problem  of  the  individual 
versus  material  goods,  and  as  this  is  in  agreement  with  the  most 

io"Eine  theoretische  Einheit  bilden  diese  Problcme  nicht  wegen  ihres 
irgendwie  bestimmten  wirtschaftlichen  Characters,  sondern  wegen  ihrer  all- 
gemeinen  wesentlichen  sozialen  Natur.  Nicht  die  Besonderheiten  ihrer  em- 
pirischen  Erscheiiiungsform  bei  Sachgiiterproduktion  und  Verkehr  interes- 
sieren  in  erster  Linie  die  National-Okonomie.  sondern  ihre  soziale  Erschei- 
nungsform  in  allgemein  und  unabhangig  von  jener."  (Amonn:  Objckt  u. 
Grundbcgriffc  dcr  thcorctischcn  Xatiotial-Okonoiutc,  191 1,  p.  168.)  "Damit 
halten  wir  es  fiir  begriindet,  die  National-Okonomie  im  methodolischen  Sinn — 
nicht  als  Wirtschaftswissenschaft — sondern  als  Sozialwissenschaft  aufzu- 
fassen."     {Ibid.,  p.  158.) 


36         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

recent  economic  thought,  it  must  be  considered  as  an  important  and 
valid  sociological  aspect. 

Agreeing,  then,  with  the  teaching  of  the  "social  studies"  that  the 
pjoblem  of  capital  and  labor  is  essentially  social,  in  "the  sense  that 
all  economic  problems  are  social  problems,"  we  may  examine  the 
method  in  which  these  studies  seek  the  moral  solution  of  this  prob- 
lem. It  will  be  found  that  characteristically  they  invoke  a  few  great 
principles  upon  which  special  stress  is  laid  for  solving  the  problem 
of  capital  and  labor.  They  are  as  follows :  ( i )  Personality,  rather 
than  property.  (2)  Justice.  (3)  Brotherhood.  (4)  Service.  Our 
next  task  is  to  examine  the  treatment  of  each  of  these  principles  and 
their  application  to  the  problem  in  question.  In  the  consideration  of 
each  principle  a  brief  criticism,  not  necessarily  destructive,  will  be 
offered,  and  at  the  end  a  general  discussion  of  this  method  of  attack- 
ing the  industrial  problem. 

(3)  Personality  versus  Property. — The  studies  of  this  group  see 
as  one  of  the  causes  of  distress  the  fact  that  property  is  put  above 
personality.  "Our  industrial  establishments  are  institutions  for  the 
creation  of  dividends,  and  not  for  the  fostering  of  human  life." 
{Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis,  p.  370.)  There  will  be  no  solu- 
tion "until  our  industrial  world  is  organized  on  the  basis  of  the 
supremacy  of  the  human  element  in  life"  (The  Social  Gospel,  p.  109)  ; 
"the  social  order  is  not  a  product  of  mechanism,  but  of  personality." 
(Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  p.  102.)  "Use  to  persons 
....  and  not  the  gain  of  things  is  the  only  end."  (Divine  Order  of 
Human  Society,  p.  147.)  "Questions  of  property  should  always  be 
subordinate  to  the  interests  of  persons."  (Divine  Order  of  Human 
Society,  p.  137.)  "The  force  of  religious  spirit  should  be  bent  toward 
asserting  the  supremacy  of  life  over  property."  (Christianity  and 
the  Social  Crisis,  p.  413.)  The  estimate  of  the  worth  of  personality 
must  be  increased.  (Church  and  Labor,  p.  107.)  "Economic  schemes 
are  to  be  estimated  by  their  contribution  to  personality."  (Jesus 
Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  p.  282.) 

These  citations  are  intended  to  teach  that  an  exaltation  of  per- 
sonality over  property  would  help  largely  toward  a  solution  of  indus- 
trial problems,  but  from  the  point  of  view  of  psychology  it  must  be 
confessed  that  this  principle  is  vague.  Again  it  is  not  clearly  pointed 
out  in  these  studies  how  the  principle  may  be  applied  in  specific  in- 
stances. Psychologically,  the  distinction  between  personality  and 
property   is  not   thoroughly    justified.     As   William   James   clearly 


i 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  37 

shows,  property  is  a  part  of  personality.  A  man's  natural  posses- 
sions are  very  much  an  element  of  his  personality.  The  same  man 
with  fine  clothes,  a  big  bank  account  and  an  automobile  is  a  very 
different  personality  from  what  he  would  be  if  jobless  and  hungry. 
We  cannot  divide  ourselves  so  completely  from  our  material  posses- 
sions. We  seek  property  because  with  property  we  have  power  and 
mastery  and  thus  enlargement  of  personality.  The  man  who  can 
command  railroads  and  ships,  factories  and  mines,  whose  influence 
extends  into  a  hundred  branches  of  industry,  has  the  personality  of 
a  small  god.  No  one  (except  the  miser)  cares  for  property  in  itself, 
but  principally  because  property  becomes  part  of  one's  personality, 
capable  of  expanding  it  and  making  it  free. 

The  idea  of  putting  personality  against  property  probably  goes 
back  to  the  conception  of  the  soul  as  an  independent  unit,  existing 
exclusive  of  visible  things.  The  personality  or  soul,  according  to 
this  thought,  is  an  independent  unity  and  it  stands  oiT  and  may  or 
may  not  use  property. 

According  to  the  other  conception,  personality  is  the  total 
experience. 

At  any  rate  if  one  has  the  time  or  the  energy  to  give  such  formulae 
AS  personality  versus  property  careful  consideration,  he  is  led  into 
insoluble  metaphysical  questions  which  do  not  cast  much  light  upon 
practical  problems,  or  else  he  is  forced  to  seek  simpler  and  more 
practical  explanations. 

Undoubtedly  there  are  deep  truths  underlying  the  exaltation  of 
persons  and  personality  over  property,  but  do  they  not  require  much 
more  definite  statement  in  order  to  be  applied  by  the  practical  man 
to  the  problems  of  capital  and  labor? 

If  the  truths  underlying  the  rather  vague  citations  from  the  texts 
were  put  in  simpler  and  more  definite  form,  would  they  not  perhaps 
resolve  themselves  into  teachings  similar  to  the  following? 

''Plenty  of  physical  exercise  is  better  for  health  and  happiness 
than  the  possession  of  a  big  motor  car!" 

"A  big  house  is  of  no  value  to  one  unless  he  can  use  it,"  etc. 

If  some  general  statement  were  desired,  would  it  not  be  clearer 
to  say  that  a  man's  experience  is  the  relation  between  his  mind  and 
body  and  his  environment  (social  and  physical)  and  it  is  just  as  im- 
portant to  improve  and  complete  the  former  as  the  latter? 

It  is  the  belief  of  the  writer  that  further  perusal  of  this  essay 
will  tend  to  indicate  that  the  substitution  of  plain,  scientific,  definite 


38         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

facts  for  somewhat  general  and  theological  formulae  is  practically 
advantageous,  especially  in  so  difficult  a  field  as  that  of  industrial 
questions. 

(4)  Justice. — This  is  a  principle  that  all  admit  would  materially 
aid  in  the  solution  of  all  social  problems  if  men  could  only  agree 
upon  exactly  what  justice  is !  The  social  studies  consider  the  prin- 
ciple of  justice  as  one  of  the  surest  means  of  solving  the  industrial 
problem.  The  industrial  conflict,  on  the  part  of  the  handworking 
class,  is  a  "passionate  demand  for  industrial  justice.  (Jesus  Christ 
arid  the  Social  Question,  p.  272.)  "The  rise  of  class  consciousness 
is  due  to  a  sense  of  injustice."  (The  Social  Gospel,  p.  75.)  "It  is  the 
sense  of  inequity  which  gives  the  present  social  situation  its  specific 
character."  (Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  p.  185.)  "The 
time  has  come  ....  to  attune  the  conditions  of  industrial  life  to 
justice."  (Social  Order  in  Religion,  p.  9.)  "Our  blessings  have 
failed  to  bless  us  because  they  were  not  based  on  justice."  (Christi- 
anity and  the  Social  Crisis,  p.  233.)  The  churches  "must  arouse  and 
inspire  men  to  go  forth  and  make  justice  prevail  in  the  earth." 
(Social  Task  of  Christianity,  p.  126.)  "The  crucial  point  of  attack 
on  poverty  is  therefore  the  campaign  for  social  justice."  (Poverty 
and  Wealth,  p.  117.) 

A  just  distribution  is  called  for:  "In  a  free  and  just  society 
every  man  is  entitled  to  the  product  of  his  own  industry."  (The 
Christian  State,  p.  224.)  "It  has  become  necessary  to  adopt  some 
standard  of  justice  for  the  distribution  of  wealth"  (Social  Creed  of 
the  Churches,  p.  165).  "They  must  see  that  gains  received  and  privi- 
leges enjoyed  bear  some  proportion  to  service  rendered  and  obHga- 
tions  fulfilled."     (Social  Task  of  Christianity,  p.  126.) 

The  last  two  citations  certainly  approach  definiteness  more  than 
the  others,  but  it  is  one  of  the  biggest  problems  of  economics  to  deter- 
mine just  what  is  the  product  of  any  man's  industry.  That  is  re- 
garded as  being  at  the  heart  of  the  economic  problem. 

But  the  principle  of  justice  that  is  to  be  applied  to  the  industrial 
problem  needs  now  to  be  considered. 

F.  Rank  in  Etudes  de  morale  shows  that  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
sider justice  as  an  absolute  principle.  Efforts  have  been  made  to 
formulate  the  principles  of  justice  from  metaphysical  grounds,  phys- 
ical, chemical,  or  biological  laws.  These  have  all  failed.  The  hedonis- 
tic theory  has  also  been  used  to  establish  a  principle  of  justice  and 
has  failed. 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  39 

The  hedonistic  theory  of  individual  happiness  is  an  o  priori  theory 
which  has  no  justification  in  itself.  Happiness  is  not  a  criterion  of  our 
ideal  of  justice.^^  "We  have  shown  that  conceptions  (of  justice)  which 
rest  upon  metaphysical,  psychological,  or  biological  grounds  have  no 
value,  and  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  to  consider  justice  as  a  social 
belief  of  our  time  in  a  given  movement  and  a  given  society."^^ 

Dr.  Sarlo'^  likewise  finds  that  "justice  presents  such  a  complica- 
tion in  its  psychological  elements  and  in  its  historical  evolution  that 
it  is  very  difficult  to  determine  its  contents  except  as  exactly  the  moral 
valuation  occurring  in  various  evolutionary  stages  (of  society),"  and 
further  "justice  is  closely  connected  with  economic,  social,  and  polit- 
ical conditions,  with  the  total  complex  of  phenomena  ....  of  a 
given  people,  and  consequently  to  write  the  history  of  justice  it  is 
necessary  to  write  the  history  of  property,  of  the  family,  of  the  State, 
of  Law  in  all  their  forms." 

In  other  words,  abstract  justice  is  no  definite  and  permanent 
principle  by  which  things  may  be  ordered.  Justice  as  understood  at 
a  given  time  is  nothing  other  than  the  prevailing  belief  about  human 
relations,  and  it  accordingly  changes  with  every  change  in  the  social 
order.  To  attempt  to  clarify  the  present  social  problem  by  an  appeal 
to  justice  is  practically  to  seek  to  solve  the  prevailing  social  perplexity 
in  regard  to  social  problems  by  an  appeal  to  the  prevailing  social 
understanding  of,  or  belief  concerning,  these  problems. 

That  is  the  very  difficulty.  There  are  so  many  ideas  of  what 
justice  is.  The  employer,  smarting  under  repeated  losses  caused  by 
undeveloped  labor  leadership,  has  a  very  different  conception  of 
industrial  justice  from  that  of  the  enthusiastic  uplifter  who  is  too 
often  ignorant  of  economics.  If  public  opinion  in  a  Democracy 
could  only  be  made  to  agree  on  some  standard  of  justice,  it  might 
not  be  long  before  systematic  attempts  were  made  to  adjust  the  situ- 
ation. But  there  is  the  trouble.  Each  group  has  a  different  idea  of 
justice.  The  very  greatest  danger  lies  in  having  any  man  assume  that 
his  concrete  idea  of  what  justice  is,  coincides  with  that  of  all  others, 
calling  others  unjust  if  their  actions  do  not  conform  to  his  standards. 

What  is  necessary  is  not  an  abstract  appeal  to  justice  but  a  con- 
vincing demonstration  to  all  classes  of  what  is  just. 

J'F.  Rank,  Etudes  de  morale,  p.  286. 
12F.  Rank,  "Etudes  de  Morale." 
^^Principii  di  scietica  etica,  1907,  p.  2l6. 


40         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

Of  course  an  appeal  to  act  in  accordance  with  generally  accepted 
standards  is  useful.  But  in  the  field  of  capital  and  labor  there  are 
few  generally  accepted  standards.  It  is  these  standards  that  have  to 
be  created.  The  appeal  to  justice  sounds  good.  It  is  liable  to  make 
people  feel  that  a  solution  has  been  reached.  But  in  the  problem  of 
capital  and  labor  it  is  largely  misleading,  and  prevents  effort  and 
study  towards  finding  an  actual  and  practical  method  of  attacking  the 
problem. 

Therefore  we  must  conclude  that  the  appeal  to  abstract  justice 
in  this  particular  instance  is  not  a  sufficiently  practical  way  of  meet- 
ing the  problem,  although  we  would  not  minimize  the  need  of  empha- 
sizing justice  so  far  as  public  opinion  has  made  the  principle  of  justice 
applicable  to  this  problem. 

(5)  Brotherhood. — In  the  first  group  of  social  study  texts  the 
third  great  principle  proposed  for  the  solution  of  the  differences  of 
capital  and  labor  is  that  of  brotherhood,  and  it  is  the  idea  of  brother- 
hood that  seems  to  have  been  in  the  mind  of  Jesus.  To  understand 
this  concept  we  must  look  for  a  moment  at  the  history  and  thought  of 
Israel  to  see  how  it  developed.  The  early  clans  that  settled  in  Palestine 
were  organized  on  the  patriarchal  order.  Israel  was  a  federation  of 
families.  The  unit  of  organization  was  the  family;  the  type  and 
pattern  of  the  social  organization  was  that  of  the  family.  Abraham, 
the  common  father,  was  the  center  of  the  tribal  life.  But  as  the 
nation  grew  and  absorbed  other  thoughts  the  state  concept,  the  indi- 
vidualistic idea  of  human  relations,  became  more  and  more  prominent. 
There  was  a  continual  contest  then  between  these  two  lines  of 
thought.  Jesus  represented  the  clan  idea,  the  family  principle  applied 
to  human  relations,  and  he  generalized  this  idea  to  apply  to  all  men. 
Brotherhood  means  the  family  principle. 

We  find  the  social  studies  emphasizing  this  principle : 

"The  Kingdom  of  God,  according  to  Jesus,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
gradually  realized  and  finally  perfected  brotherhood  of  man."  (Jesus 
Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  p.  286.)  "In  Christ  all  men  are 
brethren."  (Social  Aspect  of  Christianity,  p.  9.)  "Jesus  Christ 
looked  at  the  laborer  as  a  brother."  (Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  p. 
135.)  "It  is  rather  with  developing  ....  a  sense  of  fraternity" 
....  that  solution  will  be  reached.  (The  Social  Gospel,  p.  100.) 
"The  first  point  to  be  settled  is  as  to  whether  an  existing  economic 
institution  ....  tends  to  the  establishment  of  fraternity"  (Social 
Teaching  of  Jesus,  p.  156).     "The  equality  of  fraternity  does  not 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  41 

consist  in  duplication  of  powers,  but  in  the  enjoyment  and  the  exer- 
cise of  love"  {Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  p.  172).  "We  are  our 
brothers'  keepers  ....  {Social  Aspect  of  Christianity,  p.  100). 
"To  sum  up,  then,  these  ....  thoughts  ....  men  are  brethren," 
....  etc.  {Social  Aspect  of  Christianity,  p.  15).  "The  love  that 
springs  from  a  sense  of  brotherhood  will  never  be  satisfied  until  it 
has  established  a  social  order  in  which  fraternity  will  characterize  all 
phases  of  social  life"  {Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  p.  195).  "The 
question  is  whether  the  ideal  of  ...  .  economic  fraternity  can  today 
depend  on  any  great  and  conquering  class"  {Christianity  and  the 
Social  Crisis,  p.  403).  "The  church  must  open  the  way  for  the  free 
circulation  of  the  red  blood  of  a  common  humanity"  {The  Democracy 
of  the  Kingdom,  p.  23).  "Men  could  not  go  on  for  generations 
saying  Father  to  God  w'ithout  the  inevitable  sequence,  the  brother- 
hood of  man  ....  {Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  v.  6,  1914,  p.  16). 
"It  believes  in  Jesus'  teaching  of  the  children  of  men  as  one  great 
family,  with  one  Father"  {Poverty  and  Wealth,  p.  122).  The  work 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  shows  "what  may  be  done  when 
v/e  abandon  the  policeman  theory  of  government  and  adopt  the  family 
theory"  {Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis,  p.  399). 

Now,  in  applying  the  family  or  the  clan  idea  to  present  society, 
two  aspects  of  this  relation  must  be  kept  distinct.  First,  the  family 
organization  of  society  was  an  organic  or  biological  organization ;  it 
was  more  or  less  unconscious,  and  depended  upon  the  biological  rela- 
tions of  the  members.  The  overcoming  of  the  family  organization 
of  society  and  the  substitution  therefor  of  the  individualistic  organi- 
zation was  a  great  step  in  advance,  inasmuch  as  it  replaced  the  bio- 
logical with  the  partially  psychological  organization  of  society.  Far 
from  having  the  ancient  idea  of  society  in  which  each  person  biolog- 
ically or  by  birth  was  assigned  his  or  her  particular  place,  the  modern 
democratic  struggle  is  toward  organic  indifference  and  social  organi- 
zation on  a  psychological  basis.  That  is  the  heart  of  the  democratic 
ideal,  the  "Ueberwindung"  of  the  patriarchal  organic  organization, 
and  the  establishment  of  a  psychological  organization,  based  upon 
the  intelligence  and  free  wills  of  free  individuals  not  bound  by 
organic  restrictions.  The  suffrage  agitation  is  part  of  this  move- 
ment. In  this  sense  we  must  regard  the  family  ideal  given  in  the 
church  studies  as  not  expressing  adequately  the  democratic  spirit  of 
organization. 


42          CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

On  the  other  hand,  a  fundamental  psychological  truth  is  brought 
forth  in  the  "brotherhood"  or  family  idea.  The  family  by  its  con- 
stant association  tends  to  become  a  psychological  unity.  The  minds 
of  all  tend  to  react  in  the  same  way;  the  sympathies  of  all  are  one. 
So  close  is  the  family  association;  so  often  do  the  sympathies,  the 
pains,  sorrows,  and  fears  of  all  the  members  act  together,  that 
eventually  the  pain  or  sorrow  of  one  becomes  the  pain  or  sorrow  of 
all.  It  is  this  close  psychological  union,  or  identity  that  is  necessary 
for  efficient  social  organisation.  This  is  the  great  truth  in  the  prin- 
ciple of  brotherhood.  Only  as  the  members  of  society  think,  feel, 
and  sympathize  together  can  there  be  any  solution  of  social  difficul- 
ties. The  development  of  this  coordinated  psychosis  is  one  of  the 
great  tasks  of  the  church  and  cannot  be  omitted  in  the  solution  of 
social  problems.  Such  united  psychosis,  social  sympathy,  and  co- 
operation can  be  achieved  by  bringing  people  together,  and  inducing 
them  to  think  and  feel  together.  Only  in  this  way  can  there  be  devel- 
oped mutual  understanding  and  the  possibility  of  psychological  or- 
ganization. Herein  lies  the  great  task  and  opportunity  of  the  church. 
Only  as  the  capitalist  and  working  class  can  be  brought  together  in 
simultaneous  sympathy  and  feeling  and  thought  can  there  be  reached 
the  common  social  understanding  without  which  the  problem  of 
capital  and  labor  remains  insoluble.  The  principle  of  brotherhood 
is  a  wonderfully  potent  influence  for  the  solution  of  social  problems, 
but  for  availability  in  modern  conditions  it  needs  a  modern  socio- 
psychological  interpretation.  This  is  not  developed  in  the  social 
study  courses,  and  so  the  principle  remains  abstract  and  difficult  of 
application. 

(6)  Service  versus  Self-interest. — The  remaining  great  principle 
invoked  in  the  studies  is  the  principle  of  service  versus  self-interest. 
"The  only  other  way  really  to  attack  combination  is  to  attack  selfish- 
ness, its  cause"  {Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  v.  1912,  p.  21).  "When 
employers  and  employed  are  all  filled  with  the  spirit  of  Christ,  the 
wage  system  will  not  be  a  means  of  exploitation"  {Church  and 
Modern  Life,  p.  150).  "Suppose  capital  and  labor  were  brought 
under  the  law  of  service;  there  could  be  no  more  conflict  between 
them"  {The  Next  Great  Awakening,  p.  202).  "The  day  must  come 
when  going  into  business  for  merely  personal  reasons  will  be  deemed 
as  disgraceful  as  entering  politics  with  such  a  notion  is  now  seen  to 
be"  {Gospel  of  the  Kingdom-,  p.  161).  "What  is  it  that  can  restore 
the  sense  of  unity  to  such  divided  lines  ?    It  is  the  spirit  of  service." 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  43 

(Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question).  "Man  is  stronger  and  more 
blessed  through  sacrifice  than  through  self-assertion"  (Social  Aspects 
of  Christianity,  p.  43).  "The  spirit  of  sacrifice  ....  gives  all  of 
self  and  all  of  substance"  (The  Next  Great  Awakening,  p.  129). 
"All  individual  activity  must  be  subject  to  the  Christian  law  of  serv- 
ice (The  Accumulation  of  Wealth,  p.  20).  "Holy  love,  realizing 
itself  in  service  and  sacrifice,  is  the  only  effective  principle  governing 
property"  (Social  Teachings  of  Christ,  p.  37). 

The  studies  find  a  striking  difference  between  Christian  and  eco- 
nomic laws.  "The  great  words  of  the  old  political  economy  and  the 
present  day  business  world  are  not  need  and  service,  but  supply  and 
demand"  (The  Next  Great  Awakening,  p.  164).  "Selfishness  as  the 
inspiring  motive  of  industry  has  had  the  sanction  of  orthodox  eco- 
nomic science"  (Our  World,  p.  103).  "Competitive  industry  and 
commerce  are  based  on  selfishness  ....  just  as  Christianity  is 
based  on  love"  (Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis,  p.  310).  "The 
ideal  of  gain  as  the  end  of  labor  must  give  way  to  the  ideal  of  use  or 
service  in  both  classes."  Business  ought  to  be  organized  on  the  law  of 
love  ( The  Next  Great  Azvakcning,  p.  139).  "The  law  of  Christ,  when- 
ever it  finds  expression,  reverses  the  law  of  trade"  {Christianity  and 
the  Social  Crisis,  p.  31 1 ) .  "The  law  of  profit  is,  take  all  you  can  and 
give  as  little  as  you  can.  The  law  of  service  is,  give  all  you  can  and 
take  only  what  you  need"  (Poverty  and  Wealth,  p.  122). 

It  would  seem  that  there  is  no  more  pressing  matter  for  modern 
psycholog}'  to  seek  to  clarify  than  the  confusion  between  egotistic 
and  altruistic  motives.  On  the  one  hand  a  representative  economist 
like  Seligman  builds  up  a  science  of  human  conduct  on  the  economic 
motive  which,  according  to  him,  is  "that  which  [leads]  man  to  secure 
the  most  pleasure  for  the  least  pain."^*  and  on  the  other  hand,  the 
following  representative  sentiments  are  expressed  in  the  studies : 
"The  central  truth  of  morals"  (the  norm  of  social  relationship)  is 
"that  man  ....  is  more  blessed  through  sacrifice  than  through 
self-assertion"  (Social  Aspects  of  Christianity,  p.  43).  and  "the  spirit 
of  sacrifice"  (which  is  the  Christian  spirit)  "gives  all  and  longs  for 
more  to  fill  the  measure  of  the  world's  great  need"  (The  Next 
Great  Awakening,  p.  129).  There  is  certainly  a  great  deal  of  differ- 
ence between  sacrifice  and  pleasure  as  a  motive,  or  even  between 
service  and  pleasure  as  a  motive.  The  studies  would  build  up  a 
society  on  the  former,  the  economic  sciences  on  the  latter  motives. 

'^Seligman,  Principles  of  Economics,  p.  4. 


44         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

It  is  certain  that  the  question  of  motives  of  social  action  needs  much 
pragmatic  investigation  before  any  valuable  conclusions  can  be  drawn 
therefrom.  The  studies  assume  that  the  motive  of  service  is  so 
strong  a  force,  actually  and  potentially,  that  the  whole  social  order 
may  be  built  upon  it  as  fundamental.  The  economists,  in  a  legitimate 
process  of  abstraction,  would  eliminate  this  as  a  pure  motive.  If 
group  and  social  sympathies  frequently  contradict  and  are  stronger 
than  individual  interests,  the  basis  of  present  economics  falls.  If  it 
be  true  (and  psychologically  it  is  possible)  that  a  large  part  of  the 
motives  of  the  average  man  are  those  occasioned  by  social  norms 
irrespective  of  his  own  well-being  or  individual  feelings  in  the  matter, 
in  other  words  if  a  large  part  of  human  motives  are  occasioned  by 
customs  and  social  imperatives  that  do  not  add  to  pleasure  (as  com- 
monly understood),  much  economic  philosophy  breaks  down.  This 
principle  should  be  treated  in  the  light  of  social  psychology. 

But  the  social  studies  are  not  definite  enough  in  making  intelli- 
gible the  motive  of  "service."  It  would  seem  that  a  principle  upon 
which  so  much  importance  is  placed  should  be  worthy  of  analysis 
sufficient  for  the  reasonably  intelligent  person  to  understand  its  prin- 
cipal implications.  This  explanation  is  not  given  in  the  studies,  and 
one  is  left  wfth  a  vague,  mystic  idea  which,  because  of  its  vagueness, 
is  weak,  and  without  further  elaboration  and  interpretation  must  be 
held  inadequate  as  a  means  of  solution  for  the  problem  in  hand. 

(7)  General  Criticism  of  Spiritual  and  Moral  Issues. — The  first 
criticism  that  applies  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  solutions  given  in 
the  social  studies  for  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor  is  that  the 
principles  given  are  not  connected  in  a  definite  way  with  the  actual 
factors  of  the  problem.  An  employer  may  desire  to  be  just,  broth- 
erly, serviceable,  but  that  does  not  make  it  possible  to  pay  more  than 
a  competitive  wage,  or  to  retain  his  employees  during  a  business 
depression.  The  studies  fail  to  point  out  precisely  how  these  prin- 
ciples may  be  applied. 

The  second  criticism  is  that  the  principles  are  vague,  and,  as  this 
paper  has  endeavored  to  indicate,  not  subjected  to  a  sufficient  socio- 
psychological  analysis. 

It  may  be  objected  to  the  foregoing  criticism  that  the  churches  are 
not  endeavoring  to  teach  specific  programs,  but  merely  to  inculcate 
nght  attitudes,  and  in  emphasizing  brotherhood,  service,  personality, 
they  are  fulfilling  this  adequately. 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  45 

In  reply  it  may  be  said  that  one  of  the  most  dangerou«  situations 
exists  when  people  feel  that  they  have  the  right  attitude  toward  a 
problem,  but  do  not  know  how  to  act  toward  it.  Having  the  emotion 
of  brotherly  love  and  willingness  to  serve  aroused  is  too  often  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  deed  that  really  corrects  a  bad  situation.  This  em- 
phasis upon  attitude,  rather  than  upon  the  knowledge  of  how  to  act, 
seems  a  palpable  fault  in  the  social  study  courses.  It  is  vain  to  incul- 
cate a  proper  attitude  unless  provision  is  assured  that  there  will  be 
forthcoming  information  and  knowledge  thru  which  the  attitude 
may  be  converted  into  action.  We  maintain  that  the  churches  should 
help  to  supply  this  knowledge. 

In  general,  the  treatment  of  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor  in 
this  group  of  texts  is  too  abstract  and  metaphysical.  The  problem  is 
attacked  from  a  theological  point  of  view,  and,  although  many  good 
thoughts  are  suggested,  the  treatment  is  not  definite  and  scientific 
enough  to  satisfy  an  inquirer  anxious  to  find  real  means  of  meeting 
industrial  problems. 

C.     TREATMENT    FROM    THE    STANDPOINT    OF    APPLIED    SOCIOLOGY    AND 
SOCIAL  LEGISLATION 

As  has  been  said,  these  texts  discuss  the  social  problems  involved 
largely  from  a  sociological  standpoint  with  relatively  slight  appeal  to 
the  religious  emotions. 

I.  Social  Duties  from  a  Christian  Point  of  View,  by  Charles  R. 
Henderson,  is  in  essence  a  summary  of  the  principles  of  social  wel- 
fare as  embodied  in  the  progressive  program  of  social  legislation.  It 
really  consists  of  the  elements  of  practical  social  science.  It  discusses 
duties  relating  to  the  family,  material  conditions  of  family  life,  neg- 
lected children,  workingmen,  social  duties  in  rural  communities, 
civics,  charities  and  corrections,  corporations,  business  and  leisure 
classes,  government  and  international  relations.  Chapter  v — Social 
Duty  to  Workingmen — is  typical.  In  this  chapter.  Professor  Hen- 
derson discusses  the  need  for  a  social  policy  which  ahall  look  toward 
improvement  of  the  conditions  of  the  hand-working  classes,  and  out- 
lines the  elements  of  such  a  policy  as  follows:  (a)  Protection 
against  accidents  and  disease,  including  the  extent  and  evils  of  acci- 
dents;  {b)  The  labor  contract,  regulating  the  means  of  securing  em- 
ployment and  enacting  laws  clarifying  the  various  relations  between 
employer  and  employee;  (c)  Careful  regulation  of  wage  payment; 


46         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

(d)  Public  supervision  of  the  education  and  employment  of  children  ; 

(e)  Protection  of  the  women  workers  by  the  state;  (/)  Progressive 
state  control  of  factory  and  workshop  regulations,  legal  rights,  indus- 
trial insurance,  and  provisions  for  the  higher  life  of  the  working 
people.  In  Chapter  xiii  the  rights  and  responsibilities  of  the  great 
corporations  are  discussed,  and  there  is  advocated  the  development 
of  law  and  state  commissions  for  their  control.  Socialism  and  busi- 
ness management  receive  brief,  conservative  treatment  in  Chapter 
xiv,  in  which  there  are  indicated  the  dangers  and  disadvantages  of 
luxurious  idleness.  Primarily  a  treatise  on  practical  sociology,  this 
book  shows  little  attempt  to  assume  a  religious  coloring. 

2.  The  Social  Creed  of  the  Churches,  by  Dr.  Harry  F.  Ward,  is 
of  similar  nature.  It  is  an  extended  discussion  of  the  various  articles 
of  the  so-called  "social  creed  of  the  churches"  adopted  by  the  Federal 
Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America  in  1908.  The  articles 
of  this  creed  follow  : 

The  churches  should  cooperate  with  all  men  in  every  legitimate  way 
ill  improving  the  conditions  of  working  people.  The  churches  through 
the  Federal  Council  have  adopted  a  declaration  of  Social  Standards 
containing  the  following : 

a)  For  equal  rights  and  complete  justice  for  all  men  in  all  stations 
of  life. 

b)  For  the  protection  of  the  family,  by  the  single  standard  of  purity, 
uniform  divorce  laws,  proper  relations  of  marriage,  and  proper  housing. 

c)  For  the  fullest  possible  development  for  every  child,  especially  by 
the  provision  of  proper  education  and  recreation. 

d)  For  the  abolition  of  child  labor. 

e)  For  such  regulation  of  the  conditions  of  toil  for  women  as  shall 
safeguard  the  physical  and  moral  health  of  the  community. 

/)   For  the  abatement  and  prevention  of  poverty. 

g)  For  the  protection  of  the  individual  and  society  from  the  social, 
economic,  and  moral  waste  of  the  liquor  traffic. 

h)  For  the  conservation  of  health. 

i)  For  the  protection  of  the  worker  from  dangerous  machinery,  occu- 
pational diseases,  and  mortality. 

j)  For  the  right  of  all  men  for  the  opportunity  of  self-maintenance, 
for  safeguarding  this  right  against  encroachments  of  every  kind,  and  for 
the  protection  of  workers  from  the  hardships  of  enforced  employment. 

k)  For  the  suitable  provision  for  the  old  age  of  the  workers,  and  for 
those  incapacitated  by  injury. 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  47 

/)  For  the  right  of  employers  and  employees  alike  to  organize;  and 
for  adequate  means  of  conciliation  and  arbitration  of  industrial  disputes. 

m)   For  a  release  from  employment  one  day  in  seven. 

n)  For  the  gradual  and  reasonable  reduction  of  the  hours  of  labor  to 
the  lowest  practicable  point,  and  for  that  degree  of  leisure  for  all  which 
i?  a  condition  of  the  highest  human  life. 

0)  For  a  living  wage  as  a  minimum  in  every  industry,  and  for  the 
highest  wage  that  each  industry  can  afford. 

p)  For  a  new  emphasis  upon  the  application  of  Christian  principles  to 
the  acquisition  and  use  of  property,  and  for  the  most  equitable  division 
of  the  product  of  industry  that  can  ultimately  be  devised. 

Each  of  these  articles  is  discussed  on  the  basis  of  statistical  and 
other  data  from  government  reports  and  sociological  literature  ;  pres- 
ent legal  conditions  are  described  and  progressive  legislation  recom- 
mended. On  the  whole  the  book  takes  the  position  that  reform  is  to 
be  accomplished  to  a  great  extent  through  legislation.  In  the  words 
of  the  author  the  book 

endeavors  to  define  each  of  these  standards  (adopted  in  the  Social  Creed 
of  the  Churches),  describe  the  conditions  that  demand  its  realization, 
state  what  has  been  done  or  is  proposed  to  realize  it  by  legislation,  by 
State  or  voluntary  activity,  and  suggest  broadly  how  the  churches  may 
cooperate  with  these  endeavors  or  act  upon  their  own  initiative. 

3.  The  "Social  Service  Pamphlets"  issued  by  the  American  Bap- 
tist Publication  Society  employ  the  same  general  method.  The  sub- 
ject, "The  Church  and  Wealth  and  Industry,"  includes  several 
pamphlets  briefly  characterized  below. 

A  Reasonable  Policy  for  Christian  People,  by  Charles  R.  Hen- 
derson, summarizes  the  discussions  of  the  larger  book — Social  Duties 
(see  page  85).  The  Church  and  the  Labor  Movement,  by  Charles 
Slelzle,  is  an  historical  treatment  of  the  relations  of  the  churches  and 
labor  in  recent  years  in  the  United  States.  Welfare  Work  by  Cor- 
porations, by  Mrs.  Mary  Lathrop  Goss,  as  the  title  suggests,  describes 
the  welfare  work  done  by  such  corporations  as  the  United  States 
Steel  Corporation,  the  International  Harvester  Company,  etc.  Child 
Labor,  by  Owen  R.  Lovejoy,  discusses  the  question  from  the  view- 
point of  the  social  worker.  Workingmen's  Insurance,  by  Charles  R. 
Henderson,  and  One  Rest-day  in  Seven,  by  C.  C.  Horsman,  are  purely 
sociological  in  character.  IV omen  in  American  Industry,  by  Scott 
Nearing,  is  a  statistical  work. 


48         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

4.  The  "Social  Service  Bulletins,"  covering  a  wide  variety  of 
subjects,  as  announced  by  the  American  Unitarian  Association  on  the 
cover  of  the  bulletins,  are  "to  offer  suggestions  for  the  conduct  of 
work  for  the  common  good  in  our  churches,  and  also  to  give  circula- 
tion to  articles  of  value  on  different  phases  of  the  social  question" — 
written  indeed  from  the  sociological  rather  than  from  the  religious 
viewpoint. 

Of  a  similar  sociological  nature  are  the  studies  published  by  the 
Society  of  Friends,  and  a  series  of  pamphlets  projected  by  the  Joint 
Commission  on  Social  Service  of  the  Protestant'  Episcopal  Church 
(see  page  25). 

The  criticism  that  appears  applicable  to  the  texts  described  in  this 
section  is  that  they  do  not  sufficiently  emphasize  religious  values, 
methods  and  sentiments,  to  be  well-adapted  to  church  use.  Practical 
sociology  and  legislative  reform  are  important  and  valuable  subjects 
of  knowledge,  but  in  religious  schools  the  heart  apparently  hungers 
for  emotional  quickening,  direct  spiritual  union  with  the  good,  and 
pines  vmder  very  extended  discussion  of  exclusively  economic  and 
sociological  problems. 

D.     USE  OF  THE  FOREGOING  SERIES  IN  SOCIAL  STUDY  CLASSES 

Most  of  the  series  described  in  the  foregoing  sections  have  been 
in  use  for  several  years,  and  their  adoption  in  social  study  classes 
recommended.  Consequently,  it  will  be  of  interest  to  inquire  as  to 
the  extent  and  results  of  their  use.  Up  to  the  year  19 16  these  were, 
with  the  exception  of  the  "Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,"  practically  the 
only  social  service  study  texts  in  the  field,  so  that  the  success  of  social 
service  study  in  churches  up  to  that  time  may  be  regarded  as  some- 
Mdiat  indicative  of  the  success  of  these  studies.  From  all  the  evidence 
the  writer  has  been  able  to  gather,  this  appears  to  be  comparatively 
little.  Of  over  100  Episcopal  churches  in  the  diocese  of  Chicago, 
known  to  the  writer  in  191 6,  not  more  than  one  (so  far  as  investi- 
gation revealed)  had  church  classes  engaged  in  the  study  of  social 
problems.  Letters  were  written  to  the  secretaries  of  all  the  National 
denominational  social  service  commissions,  and  not  one  could  give 
any  approximation  of  the  number  of  churches  in  his  denomination 
where  social  service  study  was  being  done.  They  could  merely  point 
to  a  very  few  more  or  less  prominent  city  churches  here  and  there 
which  had  attempted  some  type  of  this  work.     Of  40  Social  Service 


METHODS  OF  TREA  TING  THE  PROBLEM  49 

Commissions  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  reporting  the  social 
st-rvice  activities  in  their  territories  for  the  year  191 5,  not  more  than 
one  or  two  referred  to  social  service  study  in  their  respective  dio- 
ceses.^- In  a  canvass  concerning  social  service  activities  made  by 
the  writer  in  some  30  Protestant  churches  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  in 
1916,  not  any  claimed  to  have  social  study  classes.  The  General  Sec- 
retary of  the  Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends  wrote  to  the 
author  (December  11,  1917).  "They  [social  service  pamphlets]  were 
not  particularly  unpopular  as  lesson  series  go,  but  did  not  meet  with 
so  cordial  a  response  as  Bible  lessons  of  the  same  grade  would  have 
done." 

The  American  Unitarian  Association  writes  that  "a  considerable 
number  of  our  social  service  bulletins  are  sent  to  churches,  Sunday 
schools,  colleges,  and  social  service  agencies.  We  cannot  tell  you, 
however,  the  exact  use  to  which  they  are  put." 

The  writer  examined  many  numbers  of  religious  periodicals  be- 
tween the  years  1914  and  1917, ^^  and  found  no  mention  of  the  use  of 
the  above  named  courses.  This  seems  to  be  another  indication  that 
the  studies  received  little  attention. 

Since  the  majority  of  church  formations  are  so  loosely  organized, 
it  is  practically  impossible  to  obtain  statistics  relating  to  the  number 
of  social  study  classes.  The  relative  failure  to  report  this  type  of 
work  and  the  known  facts  just  cited  would  tend  to  indicate  that  the 
two  types  of  series  just  described  have  never  been  put  to  very  ex- 
tended use  in  social  study  classes  in  the  Churches  and  Sunday  schools. 

E.     ATTEMPT  AT  COMBINING  RELIGIOUS  AND  SOCIOLOGICAL  TREATMENTS 
OF  PROBLEM  OF  CAPITAL  AND  LABOR 

The  principal  examples  of  this  method  are  found  in  the  "Gospel  of 
the  Kingdom"  Series  (  see  the  general  description  of  this  on  page  19), 
and  in  the  texts  based  upon  the  outline  prepared  by  the  International 
Sunday  School  Committee. 

^'"•What  the  Episcopal  Church  Is  Doing  in  the  Field  of  Social  Service, 
The  Joint  Commission  on  Social  Service,  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  New 
York. 

^'■'Numbers  examined:  Advocate  (M.  E.  Church,  South),  1914-15;  Sun- 
day School  Times,  1915-16;  Christian  Century  (Disciples),  1914-15;  The  Ad- 
vance (Congregational),  1915-16;  Christian  Herald,  July  to  December,  1916; 
Churchman,  January  to  June,  1916;  Congregationalist  and  Christian  World, 
July  to  December.  1916;  Continent,  July  to  December,  1915. 


50         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

I.  "gospel  of  the  kingdom,"  or  "studies  in  social  progress" 
a)  Description. —  (Also  see  general  description,  page  19). 
This  series,  extending  over  a  number  of  years,  treats  the  problems 

of  capital  and  labor  directly  and  indirectly  in  several  different  yearly 

series. 

The  following  list  of  lessons  gives  the  principal  subjects  under 

which  capital  and  labor  and  related  problems  are  discussed : 

CHILD  LABOR 
1908 
October  4-10.  The  Ethics  of  Work 

11-17.  The  Facts  as  to  Child  Labor 
18-24.  Child  Labor  and  Legislation 
25-31.  What  the  Church  Can  Do 

WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

November     1-7.  Working  Women 
8-14.  Women's  Wages 
15-21.  Effects  on  Home  Life 
22-28.  Sweating  and  Consumers'  League 
29-Dec.  5.  What  the  Church  Can  Do 

WEALTH  AND  CAPITAL 

December   6-12.  Use  of  Wealth 

13-19.  Distribution  of  Wealth 
20-26.  Corporate  Capital 
27-Jan.  2, 1909.  Labor  and  Capital 

THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  LABOR 
1909 
January    3-9.  Trade  Unions 

10-16.  Strikes  and  Their  Lessons 
17-23.  Industrial  Peace;  Open  or  Closed  Shop 
24-30.  Number  and  Character  of  the  Unemployed 
31-Feb.  6.  Causes  of  Unemployment  and  Methods  of  Relief. 

SOCIALISM 

May    2-8.  What  is  Socialism? 
9-15.  Growth  of  Socialism 

16-22.  The  Individual  and  Socialism 

23-29.  Objections  to  Socialism 
30-June  5.  Christian  Socialism 


I 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  51 

IMMIGRATION 

June  6-12.  Facts  of  Immigration 

13-19.  The  Immigrant  and  the  City 
20-26.  Exclusion  Laws 
27-July3.  The  Church  and  the  Foreigner 

LABOR  CONDITIONS 

September  5-1 1.  Hours  of  Labor 

12-18.  Industrial  Accidents 
19-25.  Industrial  Betterment 
26-Oct.  2.  The  Church  and  the  Workingman 

July,  191  i.  The  Gradual  and  Reasonable  Reduction  of  the  Hours 
OF  Labor  to  the  Lowest  Practicable  Point,  and  That  Degree 
OF  Leisure  for  All  Which  is  a  Condition  of  the  Highest 
Human  Life 

1.  Existing  Hours  of  Labor 

2.  Evils  of  Long  Hours 

3.  Advantages  of  Short  Hours 

4.  Eflfect  Upon  Employers'  Interests 

5.  What  Can  the  Church  and  Organized  Labor  Do  about  It? 

August.    A  Release  from  Employment  One  Day  in  Seven 

1.  The  Workers'  Need  of  Rest  One  Day  in  Seven 

2.  The  Domestic  and  Social  Need 

3.  What  Sunday  Work  Is  Necessary  ? 

4.  What  Can  We  Do  about  It? 

September.  1911.  A  Living  Wage  as  a  Minimum  in  Every  Industry, 
AND  the  Highest  Wage  That  Each  Industry  Can  Afford 

1.  Existing  Wages 

2.  The  Rising  Cost  of  Living 

3.  Organized  Labor  and  Wages 

4.  Christian  Principles  as  to  Wages 

October,  191  i.     Accidents 

1.  Christ's  Valuation  of  Life 

2.  Our  Increasing  Number  of  Accidents 

3.  The  Reduction  of  Accidents  in  Foreign  Countries 

4.  What  We  Should  Do 

5.  Employers'  Liability 


52         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

November,  191  i.     Sanitation  and  Hygiene 

1.  Health  a  Christian  Duty 

2.  Unsanitary  Occupations 

3.  Sanitary  Legislation 

4.  Housing  and  Sanitation 

May,  1912.     Strikes 
7.  The  Causes 
14.  The  Employee's  Side 
21.  The  Employer's  Side 
28.  The  Public 

September,  1912.     Profit  Sharing 

3.  Its  Possibilities  and  Impossibilities 
10.  Forms  of  Profit  Sharing 
17.  Co-operation 
24.  The  Workingman's  Share 

The  above  topics  show^  the  many  different  phases  of  one  branch 
of  social  problems  included  in  the  "Gospel  of  the  Kingdom"  publi- 
cation. 

In  the  1908-09  series  the  lessons  are  generally  divided  into  three 
or  four  parts.  Part  one  is  entitled  "Scriptural  Basis."  In  it  are 
given  a  number  of  texts  bearing  upon  the  subject  of  the  lesson,  and 
these  references  are  explained. 

Thus  there  are  presented  the  attitude  and  ideas  of  the  Bible 
writers  upon  the  problem  as  it  existed  in  their  day,  usually  bringing 
the  matter  into  a  strongly  ethical  and  religious  light. 

The  second  part  of  the  lesson  entitled  "Facts"  gives  as  far  as 
are  available  the  facts  and  statistics  covering  the  subject  in  question 
and  the  amount  of  information  is  often  surprising.  There  usually 
follows  a  discussion  including  impartial  arguments  pro  and  con. 

The  third  part,  "Subjects  for  Study,"  suggests  various  sub-topics 
for  further  investigation  with  references  therefor  in  standard  works 
of  economics  and  sociology. 

The  lesson  is  completed  by  a  fourth  part,  "Subjects  for  Discus- 
sion," in  which  are  enumerated  four  or  five  pertinent  questions. 

No  attempt  is  made  to  present  the  theoretical  economic  doctrines 
of  capital,  rent,  interest,  wages,  etc.,  but  there  are  given  facts  and 
various  sociological  views.  The  material  presented  is  such  as  may 
be  found  in  standard  texts  on  labor  problems  or  about  what  an  im- 
partial college  professor  would  give  without  the  abstract  theory. 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  53 

There  exists  an  abundance  of  authoritative  statistics  on  matters  such 
as  child  labor,  hours  of  labor,  wages,  and  conditions  of  work,  trade 
unions,  immigration,  accidents,  sanitation  and  hygiene,  strikes,  profit 
sharing,  etc.  All  the  data  and  facts  presented  in  the  lessons  are  given 
a  religious  and  ethical  setting. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  lesson  for  December  6-12,  1918, 
show  the  scriptural  references,  and  the  ethical  treatment  of  the 
subject : 

NATURE  AND  USE  OF  WEALTH 

Scriptural  Basis. — All  things  belong  to  God.  Deut.  10:  14;  Ps.  24:  I ; 
Hag.  2 :  8. — Wealth  a  peril.  Luke  6 :  24 ;  16 :  19-31  ;  Matt.  13 :  22 ;  6 :  19,  24 ; 
19 :  23-26 ;  Luke  14 :  33. — Wealth  a  trust.  Matt.  25  :  14-30 ;  Luke  19 :  13-27 ; 
16:  II.  We  have  some  dozens  of  words  to  express  the  various  aspects  or 
characteristics  of  our  possessions,  indicating  how  large  a  place  is  occupied 
in  our  life  by  property.  Of  these  many  words  we  shall  employ  wealth  as 
perhaps  most  nearly  comprehending  all. 

Modern  Christians  generally,  with  these  parables  in  mind,  would 
acknowledge  that  wealth  is  a  trust,  however  inadequate  their  appreciation 
of  it,  but  they  never  seem  to  deem  it  a  peril.  \i  they  do.  they  are  all  will- 
ing and  anxious  to  brave  it.  Rare  indeed  is  the  man  who  does  not  dare 
to  be  rich ;  and  almost  as  rare  is  the  rich  man  who  has  not  suffered  from 
braving  this  peril. 

Thus  one  conception  of  wealth  ignores  one  class  of  Christ's  teachings 
on  the  subject,  while  the  other  conception  ignores  the  other  class.  They 
are,  therefore,  both  mistaken. 

The  following  interpretation  finds  a  perfect  harmony  between  the  two 
classes  of  Jesus'  sayings,  and  lays  the  same  emphasis  on  both : 

Jesus  requires  of  every  disciple  the  absolute  and  literal  surrender  of 
his  substance-^ez'ery  farthing  of  it — for  the  uses  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
All  possessions  are  to  be  regarded  henceforth  not  as  the  holder's  property 
but  as  a  trust  from  God  to  be  administered  according  to  the  will  of  the 
owner. ^'' 

Extracts  from  the  lesson  for  December  20,  1908,  and  April  14, 
1918,  show  the  discussion  of  the  "scripture  basis"  and  the  citation 
of  facts : 

CORPORATE  CAPITAL— December  20-26 

L  Scripture  Basis.— Gen.  41:46-49  and  53-57.  47:13-26;  Gal.  6:10; 
Luke  12:48  (loc.  cit.),  6:24.  The  story  of  Joseph  contains  a  most  inter- 
esting account  of  the  first  "corner"  in  grain  and  of  the  consequent  eco- 
nomic and  social  changes  in  Egypt,     (i)  Joseph,  the  wise  statesman  and 

^''Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  December,  1918,  pp.  18  and  19. 


54         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

capitalist,  who  buys  up  the  cereals  of  Egypt  and  becomes  the  savior  of 
that  and  neighboring  countries.  (2)  Joseph,  the  shrewd  politician,  uses 
that  advantage  to  enslave  the  people,  and  make  them  in  every  respect 
dependent  on  Pharaoh.  (3)  This  incident  shows  clearly  both  the  benefi- 
cent and  the  baneful  power  of  capital.  (4)  The  spirit  of  Christianity 
requires  that  men  should  use  whatever  power  they  may  possess  for  the 
service  of  their  fellow-men  as  they  "have  opportunity."  (5)  If  that 
power  is  misused,  it  is  a  betrayal  of  a  sacred  trust,  and  incurs  the  denun- 
ciation "Wo  unto  you  that  are  rich." 

II.  Facts. — (i)  Definition.  By  corporate  capital  we  mean  wealth 
that  is  pooled.^^ 

Another  citation  shows  the  method  of  treating  facts. 

SPECIFIC  ENDEMIC  DISEASES 

It  would  be  impossible  to  discuss,  even  briefly,  the  various  endemic 
diseases.  Three  will,  consequently,  be  selected — tuberculosis,  malaria, 
and  hookworm — because  they  affect,  singly  and  collectively,  a  larger 
number  of  people  than  perhaps  all  others  combined.  Fortunately,  each 
of  them  is  now  under  control,  at  least  in  those  parts  of  the  civilized  world 
where  people  are  willing  to  observe  the  laws  of  hygiene  and  of  sanitation. 

Tuberculosis  is  the  most  familiar  of  the  three,  since  there  is  scarcely  a 
person  in  our  country  who  has  not  had  a  friend  or  acquaintance  afflicted 
with  it.  Consumption,  in  its  various  forms,  is  caused  by  a  rod-shaped 
parasite  or  fungus,  discovered  by  Dr.  Robert  Koch,  of  Berlin,  in  1882. 
It  kills  on  an  average  160,000  persons  per  year  in  the  United  States.  This 
means  from  one-tenth  to  one-seventh  of  all  our  people,  or  about  one-third 
of  all  those  who  die  between  the  ages  of  18  and  45.  Those  suffering  from 
this  disease  number  not  less  than  1,000,000  persons  in  our  country. 
Ozving  to  the  greater  exposure  to  cold  and  other  conditions  of  work,  more 
men  die  from  tuberculosis  than  women — dj  per  cent  of  deaths  from  this 
disease  in  New  York  city  occurring  among  men.  Dusty  trades  produce 
an  unusually  high  mortality  from  consumption.  The  negroes  have  a  mor- 
tality rate  more  than  ^00  per  cent  greater  than  the  white — 450  as  against 
148  per  100,000  of  the  population  in  ipio.  Owing  to  the  various  measures 
taken,  tuberculosis  is  rapidly  decreasing.  In  cities  where  anti-tuberculosis 
campaigns  have  been  waged  the  death-rate  has  declined  in  a  decade  ( 1904 
to  1914)  from  200.7  to  146.8  per  100,000  of  the  population.  And  the  day 
will  soon  come  when  consumption  will  be  as  rare  in  a  civilized  commu- 
nity as  smallpox  is  at  present.  We  know  the  cause  of  the  disease  and 
will  be  able  to  eliminate  it. 

isp.  22. 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  55 

Regarding  labor  and  capital  the  position  is  taken  that  the  present 
aims  of  both  are  wrong. 

Generally  speaking,  capital  and  labor  are  each  organized  to  secure  the 
largest  returns  to  itself.  Their  object  ought  to  be  to  render  the  largest 
service  to  society  in  general  and  to  each  other  in  particular.  In  one 
word,  industry  needs  to  be  Christianized.^" 

On  the  basis  of  former  criticisms  it  is  maintained  that  this  state- 
ment might  be  more  definite.  Thorough-going  discussion  of  details, 
however,  and  the  presentation  of  numerous  facts  bearing  on  many 
phases  of  industrial  problems  (as  suggested  by  the  list  of  subjects 
treated),  give  a  good  deal  of  light  for  the  application  of  the  above 
principle. 

The  question  of  socialism  is  treated  from  many  angles,  under 
the  following  topics:  "What  is  Socialism?"  "Growth  of  Socialism," 
"The  Individual  and  Socialism,"  "Objections  to  Socialism,"  and 
"Christian  Socialism."  {Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  May,  IQ09.)  No 
new  theories  are  advanced,  and  no  sides  are  taken.  A  plain  account 
of  the  history  of  socialism  and  the  most  common  arguments  for  and 
against  are  given.  In  the  discussion,  however,  there  are  woven 
many  ethical  and  religious  observations,  such  as  the  following: 

WHAT  IS  SOCIALISM? 

I.  Scripture  Basis. — Prov.  22:2.  According  to  this  passage  the  rich 
and  poor  shall  meet  together  on  the  basis  of  the  common  fatherhood  of 
God.  This  fatherhood  means  the  brotherhood  of  man ;  and  the  socialists 
claim  that  the  rich  and  poor  shall  meet  as  brothers,  with  equal  opportuni- 
ties as  far  as  external  conditions  are  concerned.  A  fraternal  organiza- 
tion of  society  will  thus  become  possible,  it  is  claimed,  where  there  will  be 
neither  rich  nor  poor,  but  brothers  in  comfortable  circumstances.-" 

In  some  of  the  later  numbers  (1916)  the  scripture  references 
were  omitted,  but  in  the  1917-18  series  appear  again.  Two  letters 
received  by  the  writer  from  users  of  these  studies  said  that  the 
classes  complained  unless  considerable  attention  was  given  to  the 
scriptures. 

^^Gospd  of  the  Kingdom,  December,  1918,  p.  24. 
^'^Gospel  of  the  KiiigJoni,  May,  1909,  p.  59. 


56 


CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 


An  extract  taken  from  the  December  number  (1917)  in  its  dis- 
cussion of  the  problem  of  wealth  and  poverty  shows  a  rather  rich 
use  of  scriptural  material : 

The  writings  of  the  prophets  are  full  of  denunciations  of  the  plutocrats 
of  their  day.  They  dwelt  in  palaces  of  ivory  and  of  hewn  stone,  and  had 
both  summer  and  winter  houses  (Amos  3: 12,  15;  5: 11).  They  reposed 
on  couches  of  ivory,  and  ate  selected  lambs  and  fatted  calves.  They 
drank  beakers  of  rare  wines,  and  sang  improvised  songs  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  their  musical  instruments  (Amos  6:4  fi.;  8:10).  Hosea 
speaks  of  their  palaces,  their  mirth,  their  feasts,  and  the  treasure  or  their 
goodly  vessels  (Hos.  2:  11 ;  8: 14;  13:  15).  Isaiah  speaks  of  their  great 
and  fair  houses,  the  harp,  the  lute,  the  tabret,  and  the  pipe  in  their  feasts, 
their  glory,  their  pomp,  and  their  costly  chariots  (Isa.  5:9,  11,  14;  22:  18), 
The  wives  of  these  aristocrats  were  as  voluptuous  as  their  husbands. 
Amos  calls  them  "Fat  cows  of  Bashan  that  are  in  the  mountains  of 
Samaria"  (Amos  4:1).  Isaiah  calls  them  "women  that  are  at  ease,  care- 
less daughters"  (Isa.  32:9),  and  in  3:  16-24  he  gives  in  derision  a  long 
list  of  the  articles  that  are  necessary  to  complete  their  toilets.  The  con- 
stant round  of  feasts  made  drunkenness  habitual  in  the  upper  classes  (cf. 
Amos  6 :  6  ff. ;  4 :  i) .  Sexual  license  also  was  frightfully  prevalent  among 
the  wealthy  (Amos  2:7;  Hos.  4:  14;  7:4). 

This  is  a  perfect  description  of  the  life  of  the  modern  idle  rich.  Their 
time  is  spent  in  devising  new  forms  of  wasteful  extravagance.  They 
have  their  different  houses  for  every  season  of  the  year.  They  have 
their  horses,  their  automobiles,  and  their  yachts.  Life  is  a  constant 
round  of  costly  and  often  vicious  pleasures.  In  such  hands  wealth  is  a 
constant  menace  to  the  moral  welfare  of  society. 

The  later  numbers  have  not  followed  the  strict  lesson  divisions  of 
earlier  years,  but  the  general  method  of  treatment  is  the  same. 

The  above  citations  show  how  a  conservative  kind  of  modern 
sociology  is  combined  with  moral  and  religious  teaching.  In  its 
treatment  of  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor,  this  series  does  not 
endeavor  to  expound  the  economic  theories  concerning  wages,  rent, 
interest,  etc.,  but  adopts,  as  do  the  studies  in  Group  2,  the  position  of 
"meliorism,"  advocating  all  the  generally  accepted  types  of  pro- 
gressive social  legislation  and  organization. 

The  principles  underlying  the  treatment  of  social  problems  by 
the  American  Institute  of  Social  Service  are  stated  by  their  general 
secretary,  Nathaniel  P.  Pratt,  in  a  letter  to  the  writer  (December  10, 
1917), as  follows: 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  57 

The  American  Institute  is  not  a  propagandist  organization.  In  the 
preparation  of  these  Studies  our  purpose  is  not  to  take  sides  in  disputed 
problems  but  simply  to  present  the  facts — giving  these  facts  a  spiritual 
interpretation  in  their  application  to  modern  problems. 

Regarding  the  success  of  the  studies,  Dr.  Pratt  writes  in  the 
same  letter: 

Approximately  400  classes  in  connection  with  churches,  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s, 
colleges,  etc.,  are  using  our  "Studies  in  Social  Progress  in  the  Gospel  of 
the  Kingdom"  as  texts.  For  the  most  part  those  subscribing  for  single 
copies,  either  ministers  or  laymen,  are  using  these  Studies  in  their  own 
preparation  as  teachers  of  classes  or  in  connection  with  addresses. 

b)  Use  and  Results. — The  writer  addressed  letters  of  inquir>'  to 
sixty  churches,  church  schools,  and  class  leaders,  using  these  studies, 
and  all  answers  were  favorable  in  their  comments.  The  inquiries 
did  not  include  a  questionnaire,  but  requested  the  informant  to  give 
some  data  concerning  the  size,  age,  groups,  and  general  character  of 
the  class  reported,  the  methods  of  teaching,  and  the  results  obtained. 
There  were  received  in  response  to  the  inquiry  twenty-four  replies, 
representing  Congregational,  Presbyterian,  Methodist  Episcopal, 
Unitarian,  Christian,  and  Universalist  churches.  The  average  length 
of  time  during  which  the  Social  Service  Institute  series  had  been  in 
use  among  the  10  church  schools  answering  on  the  point,  was  2.8 
years.  Nearly  all  the  classes  were  composed  of  men,  although  one 
included  women  "as  keenly  interested  as  the  men."  One  class  con- 
sisted of  youths  from  18  to  25  years  of  age;  three  comprised  men 
over  30  years  old ;  the  others  were  from  20  up  or  were  termed 
"adults."  One  correspondent  stated  that  he  thought  this  course 
fitted  only  for  "grown  ups." 

The  class  members  included  some  from  almost  every  occupation 
and  profession ;  one  class  consisted  of  "mill  and  factory  men,"  an- 
other was  a  combination  of  tradesmen,  one  lawyer,  one  merchant, 
and  one  dentist ;  still  another  represented  shop-men,  clerks,  and  col- 
lege men;  a  class  of  25  was  composed  of  "lawyers,  doctors,  bankers, 
farmers,  newspaper  men,  clerks,  real  estate  men,  and  a  Sunday 
School  superintendent";  another,  "business  and  professional  men, 
employers,  and  employees" ;  and  finally  there  was  a  combination  of 
"business  men,  college  professors,  farmers,  and  working  people." 
One  correspondent  writes :  "Among  our  membership  we  have  Single 
Taxers,  Prohibitionists,  Socialists,  who,  with  doctors  of  both  the  old 


58         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

and  new  schools,  professional  men  of  various  shades,  make  up  a 
rather  motley  congregation.  They  are  heterodox  on  all  lines  but 
united  on  the  necessity  of  interpreting  the  Bible  from  the  social  point 
of  view.  Most  of  them  believe  that  the  social  factor  is  the  only  one 
that  can  make  religion  worth  while,"  Certainly  it  would  seem  that 
to  get  together  for  friendly  study  and  discussion  men  with  view 
points  so  diverse  on  many  questions  ought  to  be  conducive  to  greater 
understanding  and  charity. 

In  size  the  classes  ranged  from  20  to  100,  the  majority  containing 
from  25  to  30  members ;  three  numbered  40  and  one  100.  Presuma- 
bly the  group  whose  number  was  adaptable  to  discussion  proved 
superior  to  the  large  lecture  class,  especially  since  practically  all  the 
classes  used  discussion  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  as  the  "method 
of  teaching." 

In  one  class  the  "men  take  turns  in  presenting  the  thought  of  the 
lesson  and  then  there  is  general  discussion."  One  very  successful 
class  was  addressed  once  a  month  by  some  social  worker  or  member 
of  the  city  administration,  and  also  made,  from  time  to  time,  visits 
to  the  various  "city  and  social  institutions."  The  methods  used  in 
four  apparently  successful  classes  are  thus  described  in  the  words 
of  the  informants : 

(i)  We  use  the  Social  Service  course  as  a  text.  The  leader  devotes 
20  to  30  minutes  to  a  presentation  of  the  lesson,  after  which  there  is  a 
half-hour's  discussion  by  the  class.  These  discussions  have  been  so  inter- 
esting that  the  allowed  hour  is  always  too  short.  Much  of  the  success 
depends  upon  the  ability  of  the  leader  to  keep  the  members  confined  to 
the  text.  The  average  mortal  will  wander  all  around  town  if  he  is  not 
lassoed  and  brought  up  with  a  jerk.  This  requires  tact  on  the  part  of 
the  leader. 

(2)  We  appoint  leaders  for  each  evening  several  weeks  ahead.  Some 
do  some  research  work  and  gather  material  from  various  sources,  while 
others  confine  themselves  to  the  outline  as  given  in  the  regular  study. 
Last  summer  when  we  closed  for  three  months  we  asked  several  to  read 
helpful  books  along  the  line  of  our  study  and  give  a  review  of  what  they 
read  at  our  class  meetings. 

(3)  First  of  all  I  lay  close  emphasis  upon  the  principles  of  the  lesson 
as  found  in  various  sections  of  the  Bible.  I  select  a  capable  reader  of 
the  class  to  read  these  scripture  references.  I  request  the  Bible  to  be 
present  as  our  textbook  and  for  reference  purposes.  Secondly — I  use  the 
blackboard  as  an  outline  medium  for  the  lesson  assigned.  Also,  include 
a  bibliography  and  excerpts  of  authority  upon  the  same.     I  sectionalize 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  59 

the  lesson  and  call  for  questions  upon  each  section,  which  at  times  be- 
comes very  interesting  and  reveals  the  measure  of  lay  reading  and  think- 
ing upon  the  question.  A  difference  of  opinion  naturally  arises  but  in 
good  will  and  gives  the  teacher  a  large  opportunity  to  clinch  the  truth. 
Select  a  group  of  questions  beforehand  for  a  select  group  of  students  as  a 
means  of  inspiration  to  study  and  larger  interest  in  the  groups  of  the 
study  itself.  The  lessons  are  never  burdensome,  but  much  regret  is  often 
expressed  because  of  lack  of  time. 

(4)  Our  method  is  to  get  at  the  lesson  taught  by  the  scriptural  refer- 
ence, then  the  historical  reference  contained  in  the  lesson,  and  then  go  to 
the  present  day  for  investigation  to  see  what  society  is  now  doing  in  con- 
trast with  the  ancient  system.  Oftentimes  we  discover  the  same  old  thing 
going  on  with  only  a  difference  in  the  form  of  control.  If  there  has  been 
advancement,  we  point  it  out ;  while  we  always  seek  to  learn  the  cause  of 
the  progress  or  failure.  Of  course  these  lessons  require  breadth  of 
reading  and  learning,  but  their  tendency  is  in  the  direction  of  improvement 
in  every  event. 

If  any  good  thought  occurs  to  me  during  the  week.  I  keep  it  in  mind 
for  use.  I  try  to  keep  before  the  class  constantly  the  thought  that  the  old 
form  of  teaching  Christianity  must  go.  That  pious  sermons  on  Sunday 
morning  and  long-faced  prayer  meetings  on  Wednesday  evening  have 
been  fostered  for  years  with  a  view  of  getting  ready  to  go  to  Heaven  when 
we  die,  while  this  world  was  intended  for  a  happy  people  to  live  in.  That 
there  is  no  substantial  Christianity  in  a  people  who  love  a  system  which 
fosters  poverty,  filth,  and  ignorance  and  admires  the  successful  fellow 
because  he  has  the  means  of  happiness.  The  masses  must  move  on  phys- 
ically, materially,  and  intellectually  in  order  to  grow  morally.  Christianity 
has  failed  to  get  the  right  hold  on  the  people  so  long  as  they  are  unprepared 
to  welcome  changes  which  mean  the  happiness  of  the  masses.  While  we 
steer  clear  of  socialism  and  the  great  majority  of  the  class  have  no  use  for 
it,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  attack  laws  which  enrich  the  few. 

Practically  all  the  correspondents  agree  that  the  interest  in  their 
classes  has  been  good.    We  insert  some  replies  relative  to  this  point : 

"Since  we  took  up  the  pamphlet,  'Studies  in  Social  Progress,'  interest 
has  just  about  doubled." 

"Much  more  interest  than  any  plan  in  the  past." 

"The  interest  has  been  well-maintained  throughout  the  entire  time 
and  I  believe  that  through  the  agency  of  these  lessons  I  can  secure  the 
interest  and  attendance  of  a  type  of  men  who  would  not  ordinarily  attend 
Sunday  School." 

"Men  feel  that  lessons  of  this  sort  fill  a  long-felt  want." 

"Interest  has  been  good." 


6o         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

"The  class  holds  the  men  as  I  have  never  seen  them  held." 

"The  lessons  are  stimulating  to  one  who  is  interested  in  Social  Service 

work." 

"Excellent.    Never  ready  to  go  home  when  study  hour  is  up." 

"Interest  in  this  line  of  study  seems  considerable."  « 

"The  men  were  more  regular  in  attendance  than  any  other  class  I  fti 

ever  taught." 

The  results  of  the  use  of  the  above  studies  may  be  partly  ascer- 
tained from  the  following  quotations,  all  taken  from  replies  to  our 
inquiries,  each  number  representing  a  different  letter : 

1.  "Altogether,  I  think  we  have  profited  a  great  deal  by  using  the 
Social  Studies  and  can  recommend  them  to  any  body  of  men." 

2.  "These  studies  have  done  much  to  give  the  men  the  social  view  of 
the  Gospel  as  well  as  to  attract  men  who  would  not  otherwise  attend 
church." 

3.  "Personally,  I  believe  that  there  never  has  been  a  religious  move- 
ment in  history  that  has  been  worth  while,  that  has  not  been  based  mainly 
on  the  social  and  economic  factors.  There  seems  to  be  a  general  recogni- 
tion of  this  fact,  and  that  it  is  revolutionizing  the  study  of  the  Bible.  It 
is  due  to  this  that  we  have  taken  up  the  course.  That  it  will  be  of  great 
value  to  the  class,  and  attract  others  to  the  church,  is  generally  admitted 
by  our  church  officials." 

4.  "On  the  whole,  I  believe  we  have  accomplished  some  good — at  any 
rate,  I  feel  it  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction  to  get  the  church  linked  with 
the  social,  civil,  and  industrial  problems  of  our  day;  and  I  do  not  know  of 
any  better  way  than  by  getting  the  men  of  the  church  to  study  these  prob- 
lems from  a  Christian  point  of  view." 

5.  "Brought  about  wider  understanding  as  well  as  a  deeper  sympathy 
in  the  attitude  of  the  men  toward  social  and  industrial  problems." 

6.  "attracts  mill  and  factory  men." 

7.  "stimulates  interest  in  local  problems." 
8 

9.  "They  are  all  thoughtful,  studious  men  and  dig  deep  into  meta- 
physical, philosophical,  psychological  subjects,  and  they  seem  to  enjoy  it." 

10.  "I  find  the  men  heartily  in  sympathy  with  everything  looking  for 
community  betterment.  They  have  decided  to  take  up  the  Uniform  Les- 
sons for  the  coming  year,  principally  because  they  did  not  get  enough 
Bible  in  these.  After  a  year  they  will  be  willing  to  come  back  to  these 
again." 

II 

12.  "confident  their  lives  have  been  influenced  by  the  studies." 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  6i 

13.  The  class  "developed  a  community  thought,  had  learned  to  get  on 
together The  most  decided  benefit  was  to  get  several  men  inter- 
ested in  the  work  of  the  church  that  never  were  interested  before." 

14 

15.  "can  recommend  it  very  highly  ....  leads  to  discussion  along 
advanced  lines." 

16 

17.  "The  Results. — You  have  a  crystallized  sentiment  for  social  right- 
eousness as  an  expression  of  a  real  religious  experience.  A  demand  for 
better  things  in  the  community  life  in  all  its  departments.  It  gives  pres- 
tige to  the  effectiveness  of  the  church  and  shows  that  the  church  stands 
for  the  things  of  value  to  life.  I  wish  the  ministry  could  catch  the  vision 
of  the  value  of  these  studies." 

18.  "(i)  A  better  appreciation  of  the  bearing  of  Christianity  upon 
social  life  and  the  problems  of  modern  society. 

"(2)   An  awakening  of  the  social  conscience. 

"(3)  ....  a  keener  interest  in  civic  life,  as  it  relates  to  the  commu- 
nity and  the  state  and  the  nation. 

"(4)  A  deeper  sense  of  responsibility  for  a  wholesome  community 
life  especially  in  matters  of  recreation  and  amusement." 

19.  "They  entered  more  fully  into  the  class  discussion  than  any  men 
I  ever  had  in  a  class  before." 

20.  "We  have  just  formed  a  federation,  not  of  churches  but  of  indi- 
vidual Christians — an  enthusiastic  group  of  over  a  hundred  are  doing 
good  work." 

21.  "The  best  general  result  I  see  is  in  a  growing  interest  and  the 
acceptance  of  the  teaching  that  Christianity  is  intended  to  improve  the 
condition  of  people  on  this  earth." 

22.  "draw  a  number  of  men  who  could  not  be  gotten  to  study  a  lesson 
from  the  Bible." 

In  addition  to  the  general  results,  certain  direct  ones  in  definite 
action  are  recorded  as  follows : 

5.  "men  of  the  class  have  taken  the  initiative  in  the  way  of  local 
movements  which  have  looked  toward  social  betterment." 

13.  "They  developed  a  small  system  of  co-operative  buying  and  mutual 
aid." 

18.  "As  a  more  particular  result  I  think  one  of  our  men  who  is  man- 
ager of  a  plant  where  from  100  to  200  people  are  employed  has  been  more 
disposed  to  consider  the  interests  of  the  employees." 

20.  "Had  committees  working  along  various  lines  in  which  we  were 
interested." 


62         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

The  following  extracts  indicate  some  of  the  difficulties  and  com- 
pensations of  social  study  classes : 

( 1 )  The  difficulty  which  I  have  found,  however,  in  this  course,  as  in 
all  other  Sunday  school  classes,  is  that  men  do  not  find  time  or  take  time 
to  study  the  subjects  during  the  week.  They  come  to  the  class  willing  to 
give  their  own  ideas  about  the  subject  under  consideration,  but  their  ideas 
are  not  illuminated  by  general  reading  or  previous  study  or  investigation. 
1  did  succeed  in  191 5  in  getting  some  study  by  the  class.  The  studies 
that  year  were  on  War  and  Peace.  I  ordered  many  pamphlets,  leaflets 
and  reports  issued  by  the  three  peace  societies  or  foundations  in  this 
country  and  assigned  this  literature  to  men  for  special  reports,  supple- 
menting the  lesson  matter  for  the  day.  In  some  cases  I  got  good  results ; 
in  some  they  were  not  at  all  satisfactory.  Many  men  in  trades  and  busi- 
ness are  not  trained  to  make  a  thorough  study  and  report  on  a  subject. 

After  three  years'  experience  I  am  convinced  that  about  the  best  one 
can  do  with  such  a  class  is  to  make  a  thorough  study  of  the  lesson  himself 
and  then,  by  carefully  prepared  questions,  lead  the  discussion  of  the  sub- 
jects given  for  study. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case,  it  can  not  be  thorough  work  as  could  a  college 
class.  But  I  still  believe  that  it  is  more  satisfactory  than  the  old  Inter- 
national Sunday  School  Lessons,  and  more  satisfactory  than  any  other 
studies  I  have  used — and  I  have  tried  several. 

It  is  better  to  have  the  men  of  the  church  together  than  not  get  them 
at  all.  And  it  is  better  to  get  them  to  discuss  subjects  of  personal  and  com- 
munity welfare  even  if  they  have  not  had  time  to  prepare  for  it  than  not 
have  them  consider  such  subjects  at  all.  They  will  disagree,  but  the  tact- 
ful leader  can  direct  the  discussion  so  that  they  will  agree  to  disagree. 

(2)  Of  course  opinions  vary.  Some  of  the  men  think  the  lessons 
smack  a  little  too  much  of  socialism,  or  rather  give  rise  to  too  much  dis- 
cussion along  socialistic  lines,  so  that  we  have  been  called  "a  bunch  of 
socialists;"  others  think  that  at  times  the  lessons  have  not  had  enough 
Bible  references  in  them  for  a  Sunday  School  class  such  as  ours  is,  and  to 
this  last  I  also  agree. 

(3)  I  presume  you  require  as  an  intelligent  setting  my  experience  in 
using  "Studies  in  Social  Progress"  for  the  past  nine  years,  as  I  have  used 
them  in  three  different  churches. 

First,  I  have  found  in  each  instance  a  stagnation  of  progress  and 
interest  in  the  large  things  of  the  Kingdom  as  a  result  of  a  too  much 
emphasis  on  traditional  theology  and  interpretation  of  religious  truth. 

Second,  people  are  not  opposed  to  progressive  thinking  along  religious 
lines  any  more  than  they  are  along  scientific  or  governmental. 


METHODS  OF  TREA  TING  THE  PROBLEM  63 

Third,  they  hunger  for  an  interpretation  of  the  principles  of  Christi- 
anity in  the  terms  of  social  relations.  They  want  a  gospel  of  life.  Some- 
thing that  will  affect  the  conditions  of  every  day  living.  A  remedy  for 
life's  ills,  a  solvent  for  life's  problems.  It  is  life,  full,  rich,  and  free,  ever 
flowing  fresh  from  the  streams  of  God's  thought  is  what  the  people 
demand. 

Fourth,  the  introduction  of  the  social  studies  brings  a  more  lasting 
revival  of  real  value  to  social  life  and  religious  duties  than  any  other 
means  I  know  of.  It  reveals  religion  in  action.  Religion  as  a  product 
of  social  relations  with  God  and  the  Christ,  to  be  expressed  in  social  rela- 
tionship one  to  another.  The  principles  of  God's  revelation  are  of  more 
value  to  life  than  all  of  men's  interpretations  of  them  in  past  ages.  We 
need  a  religion  for  this  age  and  the  social  studies  reveal  it.  My  churches 
have  all  prospered  and  I  owe  it  to  this  fact  of  interest. 

In  one  of  the  numbers  of  the  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  the  follow- 
ing letter  is  reproduced  under  the  heading:  "What  One  of  Our 
Classes  Has  Done  and  What  More  Should  Do." 

Centre  Congregational  Church, 
Brattleboro,  Vt.,  July  29,  191 1. 
Mr.  M.  J.  Whitty,  Sec.  Bible  House, 

Astor  Place,  New  York  City 
My  dear  Mr.  Whitty  : 

Yours  of  the  24th  inquiring  about  our  use  of  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom 
Lessons  to  hand.  In  October  we  organized  a  brotherhood  in  our  church. 
One  branch  of  the  work  we  took  up  was  the  study  of  social  problems  based 
on  your  lessons.  We  were  fortunate  in  having  as  teacher  a  trained 
worker,  Mr.  John  R.  Howard,  Jr.  Our  purpose  was  to  make  the  lessons 
as  practical  as  possible;  so  we  took  in  order  the  subjects  of  special  interest 
to  the  community. 

We  soon  are  to  have  a  large  cotton  mill  in  our  town.  That  raised 
the  question  of  Child  Labor,  so  our  first  topic  was  "Child  Labor."  We 
spent  three  Sunday  mornings  considering  various  phases  of  the  subject. 
In  the  meantime  we  made  a  careful  investigation  of  conditions  in  our 
own  town.  This  report  was  of  special  interest  to  members  of  the  class 
who  formerly  had  believed  there  was  no  child  labor  in  our  community. 
We  also  learned  that  the  state  laws  regulating  child  labor  were  very  lax. 
A  legal  member  of  the  class  drafted  a  new  child-labor  bill  regulating  child 
labor  in  the  state  and  saw  that  it  passed  the  legislature  which  was  then 
in  session.  A  stereopticon  lecture  on  a  Sunday  evening,  by  Owen  R. 
Lovejoy,  emphasized  the  seriousness  of  the  question  in  other  parts  of  the 
country. 


I 


64         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

The  new  cotton  mill  would  bring  a  great  many  families  to  the  town 
and  it  was  necessary  to  have  houses  provided  for  them;  so  our  second 
topic  was  Housing.  We  considered  this  question  in  the  same  way  and  had 
W.  E.  C.  Nazro  of  the  Plymouth  Cordage  Co.  give  a  stereopticon  lecture 
showing  what  could  be  done  by  a  factory  community  in  caring  for  its 
employees.  As  a  result,  the  new  tenement-houses  will  be  much  more 
sanitary  and  satisfactory  than  they  otherwise  would  have  been. 

In  March  the  town  was  to  vote  upon  the  license  question;  so  our 
third  topic  was  Temperance.  We  considered  the  different  phases  of 
this  subject,  endeavoring  to  learn  the  actual  facts  of  the  problem.  The 
result  of  this  study  was  doubtless  responsible  in  a  large  measure  for  the 
overwhelming  majority  in  favor  of  no  license. 

We  are  covering  the  whole  field  of  social  problems  in  this  practical 
manner,-  members  of  the  class  doing  most  of  the  work  of  investigation 
under  the  direction  of  our  efficient  leader.  This  study  paved  the  way  for 
the  better  Brattleboro  campaign  of  which  you  have  heard  and  which 
resulted  in  a  tremendous  uplift  to  the  community.  A  copy  of  The  Brother- 
hood Era  covers  this  campaign.  There  also  were  articles  in  The  Congre- 
gationalist,  The  Continent,  and  Western  New  England,  a  magazine 
published  by  the  Springfield  Board  of  Trade,  Springfield,  Mass.  The 
Literary  Digest  copied  one  column  from  The  Continent. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

R.  M.  Houghton 

It  would  appear  from  the  foregoing  testimony  that  the  social 
study  classes,  as  conceived  by  the  American  Institute  of  Social  Serv- 
ice, have  been  successful  among  adult  classes  and  have  come  to  remain 
permanently,  and  that  their  treatment  of  industrial  problems  is  one 
v/hich  does  not  disrupt  the  church  nor  cause  bitterness  therein.  Of 
course,  the  foregoing  comments  and  criticisms  from  users  of  this 
text  apply  to  the  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  or  "Studies  in  Social  Prog- 
ress" as  a  whole,  and  not  alone  to  their  treatment  of  the  problem  of 
capital  and  labor.  Since  the  problems  of  capital  and  labor  occupy  so 
much  space  in  the  series,  and  are  so  intermingled  with  other  subjects, 
all  being  treated  by  the  same  general  methods,  it  was  felt  wiser  to  ask 
of  the  correspondents  questions  on  the  series  as  a  whole  and  take  the 
answers  as  representatively  applicable  to  the  capital  and  labor  treat- 
ment. To  attempt  to  separate  these  subjects  from  the  others,  it 
was  felt,  would  create  confusion  calculated  to  lessen  the  value  of 
the  inquiry. 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  TBE  PROBLEM  65 

2.  "the  bible  and  social  living"-' 
(  methodist) 

Description  and  Use. — These  are  texts  issued  quarterly,  including 
a  small  book  for  students  and  a  manual  for  the  teacher.  They  follow 
rather  closely,  though  not  exactly,  the  outline  prepared  for  this  grade 
by  the  International  Sunday  School  Committee,  and  are  designed  for 
young  people  from  seventeen  to  twenty  years  of  age. 

Neither  the  Methodist  nor  the  Baptist  texts  on  "The  Bible  and 
Social  Living"  discuss  the  problems  of  capital  and  labor  in  a  sys- 
tematic or  comprehensive  manner.  They  merely  follow  the  outline 
prepared  by  the  International  Sunday  School  Committee,  which 
gives  substantially  the  topics  below.  Certain  more  or  less  discon- 
nected phases  of  the  subject  are  presented  in  an  empirical  way  with- 
out any  attempt  at  connected  theory.  Our  description  of  these 
courses  will  therefore  be  confined  to  the  treatment  of  various  more 
cr  less  disconnected  subjects.  So  far  as  we  can  speak  of  "method" 
in  these  texts,  it  consists  of  selecting  various  pertinent  subjects  and 
treating  them  in  a  common  sense,  factual  manner,  giving  plenty  of 
concrete  material,  calculated  to  influence  the  ethical  and  religious 
feelings ;  there  are  also  included  many  scientific  facts  bearing  upon 
health  and  welfare,  a  liberal  use  being  made  of  Bible  texts  and  stories. 

The  part  dealing  with  "The  Industrial  Order,"  fairly  typical  of 
the  other  sections,  treats  the  following  subjects :  Young  People  at 
Work,  The  Work  of  Women,  Protecting  the  Worker,  The  Living 
Wage,  Making  a  Better  Industrial  World,  The  Meaning  of  Work, 
Choosing  One's  Life  Work,  The  Rewards  for  Toil,  The  Right  Use 
of  Money,  Ownership,  Brotherhood  in  Industr}-,  Working  Together, 
Jesus  and  the  World  of  Work. 

Each  lesson  begins  with  a  number  of  biblical  references,  and  is 
divided  into  three  or  four  parts.  For  example,  the  first  lesson  in 
this  quarter,  "Young  People  at  Work,"  is  treated  as  follows : 

YOUNG  PEOPLE  AT  WORK 
Biblical  References:   Zechariah  8:1-8;  Matthew  18:  1-6. 

I.     THE  CALL  FOR   HELP 

I.  A  Contrast.  In  a  small  town  near  an  Eastern  city  there  is  a  cele- 
brated private  Boys'  School.     It  possesses  all  possible  equipment  and 

21  Senior  Graded  Series,  Fourth  Year.  (Prepared  by  Harry  F.  Ward.) 
The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  N.  Y.,  1916. 


66         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

uses  all  possible  methods  for  the  development  of  manhood,  physically, 
mentally,  and  morally.  It  is  so  renowned  that  when  a  boy  is  born,  in 
certain  wealthy  families,  his  name  is  registered  on  the  waiting  list  of 
that  school  in  order  that  he  may  be  sure  of  getting  its  advantages. 

In  the  same  town  there  is  also  a  steel  mill.  Walking  along  the  streets 
of  that  town  one  Sunday  morning  at  church  time,  the  writer  met  two 
boys  of  sixteen  or  seventeen,  the  same  age  as  the  boys  just  finishing  their 
work  in  the  school.  But  these  boys  were  not  like  those  in  the  school. 
Their  slouching,  shambling  walk  showed  the  lack  of  physical  strength. 
Their  mental  development  was  indicated  by  the  remark  with  which  one 
of  them  greeted  the  lurid  poster  of  the  cheap  picture  show,  "Gee !  I  wish 
I  had  a  dime  to  see  that !"  Their  faces  were  black  and  they  carried  dinner 
pails  in  their  hands.  They  were  not  going  to  church  that  Sunday  morning. 
They  were  going  home  from  their  night's  work  in  the  steel  mill. 

Our  studies  of  the  previous  quarter  have  shown  us  that,  according  to 
the  teachings  of  Jesus,  every  life  has  the  right  to  the  full  development  of 
all  its  powers.  These  boys  have  been  denied  the  opportunity  for  develop- 
ment that  has  been  given  to  the  sons  of  the  rich  who  attend  the  private 
school.  What  obligation  does  this  place  upon  Christians  in  their  attitude 
toward  such  conditions  of  work  for  young  people  ? 

2.  Some  More  Facts.    The  National  Child  Labor  Committee  says : 

Over  a  million  children  are  at  work  in  the  United  States  in  factories, 
fields,  stores,  mines,  and  streets.     They  should  be  in  school  and  at  play. 

Child  labor  lessens  their  chance  of  a  successful  life.  It  weakens  their 
bodies  and  stunts  their  minds.  It  fails  to  train  them  for  citizenship;  it 
makes  them  inefficient.  It  cheats  them  of  childhood  and  reacts  upon 
us  all. 

Contrast  this  with  that  vision  which  the  ancient  prophet  gives  us  of 
the  Holy  City,  whose  streets  are  full  of  playing  children  (Zechariah  8:5). 
Remember  that  this  means  not  simply  that  childhood  is  denied  its  rights 
to  joyous  play,  but  that  it  is  deprived  of  its  proper  opportunity  for 
development. 

In  most  of  our  States  children  under  fourteen  have  been  taken  out  of 
the  mills  and  mines  and  factories,  because  such  work  destroys  childhood. 
But  many  of  the  occupations  into  which  young  people  go  between  fourteen 
and  sixteen,  or  even  over  sixteen,  add  nothing  to  their  development. 
Many  of  these  young  people  will  never  have  as  good  health  or  as  capable 
minds  as  those  who  have  been  protected  by  good  homes  and  permitted 
tc  finish  their  education. 

o)  Blind  Alley  Trades.  Many  of  these  occupations  are  known  as 
blind  alley  trades.  They  offer  no  opportunity  for  advancement.  There 
is  no  way  out  and  up  for  the  young  workers.     An  investigation  in  Massa- 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  67 

chusetts  to  discover  the  effect  of  the  first  few  years  of  factory  life  upon 
boys  and  girls  showed  that  at  the  end  of  the  second  year  of  employment, 
many  of  them  were  less  capable  than  when  they  left  school  and  were 
receiving  less  wages 

A  young  Swedish  boy  left  one  place  of  factory  work  after  another, 
saying  he  "could  not  stand  it."  After  he  had  lost  his  ninth  place,  he 
declared  he  would  leave  the  city  and  allow  his  mother  and  young  sisters 
to  shift  for  themselves.  At  this  crisis  a  friend  found  him  a  place  as 
lineman  in  a  telephone  company.  The  outdoor  work  held  his  interest 
and  he  became  the  steady  support  of  his  family 

A  common  ground  for  opposition  to  the  law  prohibiting  the  employ- 
ment of  young  people  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  for  more  than  eight 
hours  a  day  is  that  it  drives  them  upon  the  streets.  How  would  you 
answer  this  argument? 

Another  reason  is  that  it  works  hardship  to  needy  mothers  who  need 
the  wages  of  these  young  people.     Answer  this. 

b)  Street  Trades.  One  form  of  work  for  young  people  which  has 
received  little  attention,  and  which  exists  even  in  small  towns,  is  the  street 
trades 

Are  there  any  boys  working  at  street  trades  in  your  community?  Is 
their  work  necessary  for  the  community?  For  them?  What  is  the  effect 
of  their  work  upon  them?     What  should  be  done  for  them? 

c)  Work  in  the  Fields.  In  the  State  of  Colorado  there  are  5,000  boys 
and  girls  who  do  not  "chase  butterflies  or  splash  around  in  the  old  swim- 
ming hole."  They  are  working  in  the  sugar  beet  fields.  Some  of  them 
are  as  young  as  seven  and  eight  years,  and  the  average  workday  in  the 
rush  season  is  twelve  hours.     One  fourteen-year-old  girl  cut  the  tops  off 

five  tons  of  beets  in  a  day As  a  result,  only  45  per  cent  of  the  beet 

working  children  were  found  to  be  in  their  normal  grades.  One  little 
first-grader  hurried  into  school  one  morning,  panting  for  breath,  and  said 
to  the  teacher,  "I  tried  not  to  be  late,  'cause  I  want  to  get  a  good  report, 
but  I  had  to  do  five  rows  of  beets  before  I  came,  and  I've  been  up  since 
four  o'clock  workin'  on  'em!" 


Is  the  education  of  young  people  hindered  or  helped  by  tlieir  work  on 
the  farms  in  your  locality? 

Is  their  work  so  pleasant  and  congenial  that  it  tends  to  keep  them  on 
the  farm?     Could  it  be  made  so? 

A  preacher  refused  to  support  a  child  labor  law  because  he  had  worked 
on  the  farm  as  a  boy  and  .>^aid  it  was  good  for  him.  What  do  you  think 
of  his  argument? 


!i 


68         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

Do  farmers  in  your  section  generally  regard  youth  above  sixteen  as 
a  time  for  educational  development  or  a  time  for  work?  If  the  latter, 
how  could  their  attitude  be  changed? 

II.     WHAT  CAN  BE  DONE 

1.  Improve  the  Laws 

2,  A  New  Value  for  Childhood.  Before  the  necessary  steps  can  be 
taken  to  emancipate  young  life  from  improper  conditions  of  work,  Jesus' 
teaching  concerning  the  value  of  child  life  must  prevail 

How  does  Matthew  i8 : 6  apply  to  parents  or  employers  who  are 
responsible  for  child  labor? 

There  are  many  parents  who  rebel  bitterly  against  having  to  send  their 
children  to  work  when  they  ought  to  be  in  school,  but  they  are  compelled 
by  poverty  to  do  it.     Who  is  to  blame  in  such  cases?     Where  is  the  % 

remedy  ? 

Certain  Southern  cotton  manufacturers,  in  opposing  the  Federal  child 
labor  bill,  argued  that  a  piece  of  cotton  made  by  child  labor  was  just  as 
wide,  just  as  long,  and  just  as  good  as  that  made  by  adults.  What  do  you 
think  of  this  argument? 

How  can  Jesus'  teaching  concerning  childhood  come  to  prevail — by 
preaching  or  by  legislation  ? 

TO   THINK   ABOUT  DURING   THE  WEEK 

1.  List  all  the  different  kinds  of  work  which  young  women  are  doing 
in  the  industrial  world  that  come  directly  or  indirectly  under  your 
observation. 

2.  Observe  closely  the  conditions  under  which  young  women  are 
working  locally,  particularly  the  hours,  and  whether  or  not  there  is  any 
night  work.  Can  you  determine  the  effect  of  their  work  upon  health  and 
strength  ? 

3.  Whom  do  you  honor  most  and  whom  does  your  community  honor 
most,  the  society  woman  or  the  woman  who  is  helping  to  do  the  work  of 
the  world  ? 

Other  subjects  are  given  somewhat  similar  treatment.  "The 
Work  of  Women,"  after  beginning  with  a  number  of  biblical  texts, 
describes  the  occupations  in  which  women  labor,  under  the  sub- 
heading, "Where  They  Work."  "Work  and  Motherhood"  discusses 
this  problem  from  the  point  of  view  of  (i)  modern  physiological 
and  social  science,  and  (2)  the  adverse  modern  conditions  under 
which  women  work  in  factories,  laundries,  hotels,  and  stores.  These 
are  all  illustrated  with  concrete  cases  as  follows : 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  69 

In  Factories. — As  typical  of  bad  conditions  of  factory  work,  take  the 
following  account  of  a  bag  and  hemp  factory : 

Workers  have  to  fill  a  shuttle  every  minute  and  a  half  or  two  minutes. 
This  necessitates  the  strain  of  constant  vigilance,  as  the  breaking  of  the 
thread  causes  unevenness,  and  for  this  operators  are  laid  off  for  two  or 
three  days.  The  operators  are  at  such  a  tension  that  they  not  only  stand 
all  day,  but  many  cannot  even  bend  their  knees.  The  air  is  thick  with 
lint,  which  the  workers  inhale.  The  throat  and  eyes  are  terribly  affected; 
and  it  is  necessary  to  work  with  the  head  bound  up,  and  to  comb  the  lint 
from  the  eyebrows. 

Here  is  an  account  of  the  living  accommodations  for  some  hotel 
workers : 

The  girl  employees  ate  in  a  room  just  under  the  kitchen,  which  looked 
more  like  a  storeroom  than  a  dining-room.  It  was  directly  opposite  the 
boilers  and  the  heat  was  intense.  The  room  was  dark  and  uninviting. 
The  food  was  cold  and  poor.  The  tables  were  covered  with  old.  greasy, 
blue  oilcloth.  The  no"ise  of  the  machinery,  the  dark  entrance,  and  the 
lack  of  fresh  air  were  enough  to  take  away  appetite. 

A  young  girl  of  twenty-four  who  had  been  for  three  years  in  a  large 
department  store  earned  $6  a  week.  She  "doesn't  mind  the  work  fo  much, 
although  selling  notions  is  very  trying,  because  people  are  so  fussy." 
She  said  her  feet  were  giving  out,  however,  and  it  was  all  she  could  do 
to  get  home  at  night ;  she  found  that  the  draughts  from  the  doors  blow- 
ing constantly  on  her  gave  her  repeated  colds,  and  the  dust  caused  by  so 
many  people  passing  hurt  her  throat ;  she  was  tired,  and  "wished  she  was 
dead." 

These  facts  are  considered  as  a  "challenge  to  action,"  and  sugges- 
tions are  made  as  to  what  young  people  may  do  to  help  change  the 
existing  conditions. 

The  section  on  "Protecting  the  Worker"  gives  concrete  stories 
illustrating  the  loss  and  suffering  caused  by  accidents ;  it  describes 
the  "Safety  First"  movements  and  progress  toward  elimination  of 
occupational  disease. 

"The  Living  Wage"  is  treated  in  somewhat  the  same  way,  actual 
accounts  of  suffering  caused  by  insufficient  wages  being  given  and 
results  to  the  community  of  under-pay.  The  Bible  is  quoted  in  sup- 
port of  a  living  wage. 

The  chapter  on  "Making  a  Better  Industrial  World"  describes 
instances  where  employers  have  sought  the  welfare  of  their  em- 
ployees by  adequate  wages  and  welfare  work,  discusses  briefly  the 


70         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

faults  and  accomplishments  of  trade  unions  and  improvements 
through  labor  legislation. 

In  this  way  there  are  presented  very  forcibly  the  hardships  suf- 
fered by  the  poor  and  more  lowly  workers,  and  a  strong  appeal  is 
made  to  the  emotions  of  pity  and  sympathy. 

For  general  industrial  betterment,  regulation  and  supervision  of 
safety  conditions  by  the  state  are  recommended,  also  accident  and 
disability  insurance. 

To  promote  industrial  peace  there  should  be  a  public  opinion 
that  would  compel  arbitration.  The  state  should  know  the  conditions 
that  exist  in  industries  and  make  the  facts  known. 

Two  lessons  are  devoted  to  the  subjects,  "Work  as  a  Law  of 
Life,"  and  "Work  as  a  Social  Service."  In  these  lessons  the  dignity, 
sacredness,  and  duty  of  labor  are  dwelt  upon  and  the  social  aspects 
of  modern  work,  its  far-reaching  relations  and  meaning  for  society 
are  developed. 

Chapters  entitled  "The  Meaning  of  Work"  and  "Choosing  One's 
Life  Work"  are  ethical  discussions  of  the  problem  of  industry.  "The 
Rewards  of  Toil"  lift  the  subject  from  the  mere  consideration  of 
money  wages  to  the  plane  of  joy  in  service. 

"Ownership"  receives  a  highly  ethical  treatment,  being  presented 
as  the  following  description  indicates: 

I.    THE  RIGHTS  OF  PROPERTY 

a)  What  are  they?     b)   The  question  of  title. 

The  Question  of  Title,  (i)  Is  a  legal  title  sufficient?  Most  people 
think  that  their  right  to  do  as  they  please  with  property  depends  on  the 
fact  that  the  law  gives  them  a  title  to  it.  But  this  was  not  sufficient  for 
the  prophets  or  for  Jesus.  Possession  is  nine  points  of  the  law,  and  the 
beginning  of  title  is  often  possession  by  force.  Ahab  had  such  a  title  to 
Naboth's  vineyard,  but  the  prophet  declared  the  judgment  of  God  upon 
him  for  his  act  (i  Kings  21).  The  scribes  and  the  Pharisees  had  clear 
title  to  the  widows'  houses  they  had  taken  by  foreclosure  of  mortgage, 
but  Jesus  gave  them  his  bitterest  condemnation  for  this  practice.  Many 
of  the  greatest  estates  in  England  were  acquired  in  the  beginning  by  the 
nobles  fencing  in  the  common  lands  of  the  people,  or  by  their  taking,  or 
being  given,  lands  that  belonged  to  the  church.  Most  of  the  farming 
lands  of  this  country  were  taken  away  from  the  Indians  without  com- 
pensation. Title  to  real  estate  of  great  value  in  the  cities  often  rests  on 
the  accident  of  some  ancestor  happening  to  settle  on  that  spot.  A  list  of 
four  thousand  millionaires  shows  that  over  thirty-five  hundred  of  them 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  71 

had  made  their  fortunes  by  getting  hold  first  of  some  natural  resource 
that  all  the  people  needed  to  use,  or  by  the  aid  of  some  monopoly  in 
business  which  gave  them  superior  advantage  over  others. 

Do  you  think  that  the  children  of  men  who  have  made  great  fortunes, 
who  are  doing  nothing  to  support  themselves  or  for  the  public  good, 
should  be  protected  absolutely  in  their  inheritance? 

The  abolition  of  slavery  abolished  the  legal  title  in  one  kind  of  propn 
erty.  If  title  to  other  kinds  of  property,  for  example,  natural  resources, 
should  prove  equally  dangerous  to  life  and  liberty,  would  the  nation  also 
be  justified  in  abolishing  that  title? 

(2)  Oivnership  and  Use.  Should  the  title  to  property  depend  upon 
the  use  which  is  made  of  it?  Will  the  world  of  tomorrow  insist  that 
those  who  have  possessions  shall  justify  their  ownership  by  using  them 
for  the  common  good?  The  argument  is  made  that  the  white  race  is 
justified  in  taking  the  land  formerly  owned  by  the  North  American  Indians 
or  by  the  Africans,  because  they  were  not  using  it  either  for  their  own 
best  good  or  for  the  benefit  of  the  world.  This  places  a  heavy  obligation 
upon  the  white  race. 

2.    LIMITING  THE  RIGHTS  OF  PROPERTY 

This  section  discusses  the  way  in  which  arbitrary  property  powers 
may  be  limited  by  social  legislation. 

The  next  tw^o  lessons  are  a  strong  plea  for  brotherhood  in  indus- 
try, the  subject  being  presented  in  a  concrete  way  that  appeals  to  the 
imagination  as  well  as  to  the  sympathetic  and  social  emotions.  The 
last  lesson  in  the  same  way  describes  Jesus'  attitude  of  sympathy  and 
service  in  the  world  of  work,  regarding  the  principles  of  his  teaching 
a?  the  law  of  love  and  the  use  of  material  things  for  the  development 
of  the  spirit. 

The  preceding  citations  show  how,  in  a  limited  way.  scientific 
truths  concerning  health  {fatigue,  nourishment,  dusty  trades,  etc.), 
education,  and  morality  are  combined  with  religious  and  ethical  teach- 
ings. To  a  certain  extent  it  is  a  combination  of  the  religious  and 
ethical  teaching  of  the  Bible  with  the  facts  of  modern  science. 

The  success  of  this  series  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  60,000 
texts  (including  four  Students'  Books)  were  sold  in  less  than  two 
years  after  their  first  publication.  (Letter  from  Editor  "The  Bible 
and  Social  Living,"  Methodist  Book  Concern,  December,  191 7.) 
(The  editors,  on  account  of  pressure  of  work,  were  unable  to  give 
names  and  addresses  of  users.) 


72         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

3.  "the  bible  and  social  LIVING"22 
(baptist) 

I.  Description  and  Use. — This  course  treats  many  of  the  same 
subjects  as  the  preceding  course,  in  much  the  same  general  way  but 
without  so  many  concrete  ilkistrations.^^ 

The  method  of  treating  the  "Industrial  Order"  is  thus  stated  in 
the  Introduction  of  the  Teachers'  Text  Book,  Part  III : 

In  all  of  these  lessons  we  are  seeking  to  know  and  measure  values, 
and  we  are  preparing  ourselves  for  definite  and  practical  action.  It  is 
desirable  that  the  freest  possible  discussion  of  the  lessons  should  be 
secured.  In  this  way  the  members  of  the  class  may  be  encouraged  to  think 
and  make  valuations  for  themselves.  But  just  here  is  a  danger.  Some  of 
these  lessons  deal  with  live  issues  and  moot  questions ;  most  of  them  are 
subjects  on  which  all  have  some  ideas.  There  is  a  danger  lest  the  dis- 
cussion be  prolonged  and  obscure  the  chief  point.  Do  not  allow  the  class 
to  miss  the  main  truth  in  the  discussion  of  some  incidental  matter.  The 
class  should  try  to  visualize  a  situation  and  see  the  subject  as  a  whole. 
The  teacher  should  do  everything  possible  to  induce  the  pupils  to  make 
themselves  familiar  with  the  text  of  their  handbook.  The  teacher  should 
avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  the  lecture  method  and  should  encourage  ques- 
tions. Keep  in  mind  this  principle :  that  our  primary  purpose  is  not  to 
pour  information  into  the  mind,  but  to  enable  the  pupil  to  realize  a  situa- 
tion and  to  make  right  social  adjustments. 

This  method  is  not  co  concrete  as  that  of  the  Methodist  Course 
of  the  same  name ;  it  deals  more  with  general  principles,  at  the  same 
time,  however,  advocating  a  progressive  policy  of  social  legislation, 
organization,  and  education.  The  primary  thoughts  as  to  capital  and 
labor  are  that  life  must  always  be  the  ultimate  criterion  of  value  in 
economic  transactions,  and  that  social  and  economic  processes  must 

22Keystone  International  Graded  Sunday  School  Lessons,  Senior  Course. 
American  Baptist  Educational  Society,   1917. 

23Topics  treated  in  "The  Bible  and  Social  Living,"  Fourth  Year,  Part  III : 
The  Industrial  Order,  published  by  American  Baptist  Publication  Society  are : 
I.  Work  a  Law  of  Life;  2.  Work  as  a  Social  Service;  3.  The  Specialization 
of  Work;  4.  Socialized  Industry;  5.  The  Return  for  Labor;  6.  The  Right  Use 
of  Money;  7.  Ownership;  8.  Partnership  in  Industry;  9.  A  Worthy  Task; 
10.  Relating  Oneself  to  the  Industrial  Order;  11.  Improving  Industrial  Con- 
ditions; 12.  Christ  and  the  Industrial  Order;  13.  Review:  The  Proving 
Ground  of  Love. 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  73 

consist  in  a  socialization  of  interests.-*  ("The  Bible  and  Social  Liv- 
ing." Fourth  Year,  Part  III,  Teachers'  Manual,  p.  156.  American 
Baptist  Publication  Society.) 

No  general  panacea  for  economic  ills  is  offered  but  certain 
remedies  are  suggested : 

More  and  more  it  is  becoming  evident  that  the  rate  of  wages  is  con- 
trolled by  human  action — that  is,  by  factors  that  can  be  known  and 
reached.  It  may  not  be  possible  to  effect  any  sudden  changes,  but  some- 
thing can  be  done  by  studying  causes,  by  conscious  effort,  and  wise  social 
action.  The  nation  must  adopt  a  constructive  and  comprehensive  program 
of  wage  increase. 

We  realize  fully  that  economic  laws  cannot  be  suspended  by  act  of 
legislature  and  wages  cannot  be  permanently  increased  by  governmental 
decree.  But  many  things  can  be  done  to  lift  the  pressure  and  change 
industrial  conditions.  Society  can  forbid  the  overcapitalization  of  an 
industry.  Something  can  be  done  by  the  judicious  supervision  of  immi- 
gration. Something  can  be  done  by  a  minimum  wage  law,  as  in  Wiscon- 
sin, which  provides  that  every  wage  paid  or  agreed  to  be  paid  by  an 
employer  to  any  female  or  minor  employee  shall  not  be  less  than  a  living 
wage.  Something  can  be  done  by  the  creation  of  a  wage  commission  to 
pass  upon  questions,  take  cost  of  living  into  account,  and  determine  what 
is  a  living  wage.  Such  laws  are  in  successful  operation  in  New  Zealand 
and  Australia,  and  a  notable  beginning  has  been  made  in  many  of  the 
American  states.  Much  can  be  done  by  the  state  determining  the  plane 
of  industrial  action  and  providing  that  all  industries  shall  be  conducted 
with  regard  for  the  human  factors  involved. 

Collective  bargaining,  the  bonus  system,  and  profit  sharing  are 
also  advocated." 

The  question  of  the  ownership  of  property  receives  the  following 
treatment : 

We  have  stated  two  principles  which  may  guide  us  here :  Every  man 
i.-  entitled  to  all  that  he  makes;  and  everyone  should  earn  all  that  he 
receives.  Here  we  add  a  third  principle,  that  it  should  be  possible  for 
everyone  to  earn  and  possess  something.  This  means  that  society  must 
create  such  a  system  as  shall  make  it  possible  for  every  man  to  work  and 
earn  what  he  needs.     This  is  not  the  case  today,  as  we  all  know.     There 

-^As  Professor  Small  has  maintained,  interests  are  the  prime  social  and 
economic  factors.  Individual  and  economic  interests,  however,  can  be  made  to 
harmonize  with,  or  be  subordinated  to,  the  greater  social  interest. 

^•'Ibid..  pp.  163-4. 


74         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

is  much  poverty  for  which  the  individuals  themselves  are  not  directly 

responsible.     In  the  present  system  a  large  proportion  of  M^orkers  do  not 

receive  a  living  v^age  and  can  accumulate  nothing  beyond  the  day.     In 

this  system  there  is  much  unemployment  for  a  part  of  the  time,  and  this 

makes  it  impossible  for  many  to  get  ahead.     The  strain  of  industry  is  so  ; 

severe  that  many  persons  are  old  at  forty  and  are  cast  aside  as  so  much 

junk. 

In  saying,  therefore,  that  society  must  create  such  a  system  as  shall  i 

make  it  possible  for  every  person  to  possess  sufficient  property  for  a  com-  ; 

plete  life,  we  imply  that  society  shall  guarantee  such  means  as  lead  to  the  | 

end.     That  is,  society  must  deal  with  the  question  and  must  make  it  pos-  i 

sible  for  every  person  to  find  work.     This  question  of  employment  can  | 

never  be  settled  by  the  individual  alone.  We  know  today  that  much  un- 
employment is  due  to  social  conditions  and  grows  out  of  social  maladjust- 
ment. Society  must  therefore  deal  with  these  cases  and  conditions  and 
devise  a  system  in  which  unemployment  is  reduced  to  the  lowest  minimum.  j 

It  must  provide  all  citizens  with  such  an  education  and  training  as  shall 
make  them  efficient  workers  and  enable  them  to  maintain  their  footing.  ' 

It  must  seek  to  equalize  advantages  and  provide  fit  opportunity  for  men  \ 

in  infinite  variety.  It  must  control  the  common  heritage  and  provide  that 
a  few  shall  not  monopolize  the  earth's  resources  to  the  disadvantage  of 
many. 

Second,  society  must  create  such  a  social  system  as  shall  establish  a 
direct  relation  between  service  and  reward.^^ 

Industrial  partnership  and  cooperative  management  of  industry 
by  its  workers  are  presented  as  reasonable  ideals. 

The  present  industrial  system  is  not  working  well  today.  Everywhere 
we  have  friction,  unrest,  strife,  even  open  warfare.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  the  wage  system,  with  corporate  and  autocratic  control  and 
depersonalized  relations  between  men,  has  broken  down  on  our  hands  and 
must  give  place  to  a  better,  more  human,  more  brotherly  system.  "Capital 
and  labor,"  says  Prof.  A.  W.  Small,  "in  their  present  status  are  impossible 
in  perpetuity  as  the  ancient  social  division  into  freemen  and  slaves.''^^ 
The  whole  drift  of  our  time  is  toward  industrial  partnership. 

These  partners  should  have  a  voice  in  determining  the  policies  of  the 
enterprise.  Everything  that  concerns  the  enterprise  should  be  known  by 
all  the  members  of  the  council,  and  its  policies  should  be  determined  by 
the  partners.  The  wages  paid  and  dividends  made  should  be  based  upon 
a  full  knowledge  of  the  enterprise.     No  group  of  partners  should  feel 

26Teacher's  Text  Book. 

'^''American  Journal  of  Sociology,  March,  1916. 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  75 

free  to  take  all  that  they  can;  the  claim  of  each  should  be  balanced  by 
the  claims  of  all.  The  profits  of  the  enterprise  should  be  divided  pro  rata 
among  the  partners.  The  whole  conduct  of  the  enterprise  should  repre- 
sent the  judgment  and  cooperation  of  all. 

Industrial  Partnership.  Several  things  are  implied  in  industrial  part- 
nership which  must  be  noted  carefully,  (i)  We  must  recognize  the  fact 
that  all  the  parties  in  industry  are  partners  in  the  enterprise.  Each  party 
must  learn  to  respect  the  other,  and  must  think  of  him  not  as  a  rival  to  be 
suspected,  but  as  a  partner  to  be  trusted.  We  grant  freely  that  the  suc- 
cessful working  of  the  enterprise  depends  in  large  measure  upon  the  skill 
and  foresight  of  certain  directors  and  managers.  But  the  working  of  the 
enterprise  depends  no  less  upon  the  skill  and  fidelity  of  the  common 
workers.  The  men  who  unite  their  lives  in  this  way  thereby  become 
partners  and  should  always  recognize  one  another  as  such 

The  course  is  based  definitely  on  Bible  lessons — those  recom- 
mended in  the  International  Outlines — and  references  are  given  to  a 
number  of  standard  books  for  further  study.  The  following  for 
Lesson  27,  "Work  a  Law  of  Life,"  may  be  cited  as  typical. 

Biblical  Material,  (i)  Work  a  part  of  God's  plan:  Genesis  1:26-31; 
2:15. 

(2)  Work  necessary  to  life :  Proverbs  6:6-11;  24 :  30-34. 

(3)  Work  a  moral  duty:   Exodus  20:9;  II  Thessalonians  3:  12. 

(4)  Christ  the  worker:   Mark  6:  1-6. 

(5)  God  at  work:  John  5:17. 

References  for  Further  Study.  Boardman,  The  Creative  Week,  pp. 
201-07;  Dale,  Laws  of  Christ  for  Common  Life,  Chap  i ;  Carlyle,  Past  and 
Present,  Book  iii,  Chap,  iv ;  Ruskin,  Fors  Clavigera,  Letter  Ixiv. 

Religious  and  moral  values  are  continually  emphasized.  Note 
the  following  extracts,  selected  from  different  lessons. 

In  these  lessons  we  seek  to  analyze  some  of  the  complex  situations  of 
life  and  to  discover  the  religious  significance  of  each  concrete  act.  We 
seek  also  to  form  firm  convictions  as  to  relative  values,  in  life,  and  then 
to  relate  life  to  life's  tasks  and  to  God's  will.  These  lessons  having  to  do 
with  the  Industrial  Order  ofifer  a  splendid  opportunity  for  this  work  of 
religious  interpretation  and  moral  valuation.  The  teacher  will  find  it 
worth  while  to  give  special  attention  to  these  lessons ;  in  part  because  they 
deal  with  subjects  not  fully  discussed  in  the  classroom,  and  in  part  because 
of  the  growing  importance  of  such  questions  in  our  modern  world  (p.  139). 

In  all  of  these  lessons  we  seek  to  interpret  religion  in  terms  of  life, 
and  to  view  life  in  the  light  of  religion.     In  this  lesson  the  teacher  has  an 


76         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR' IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

opportunity  for  showing  the  breadth  of  Christ's  sympathies  and  illustrat- 
ing his  interest  in  working  people.  More  than  that,  it  offers  an  oppor- 
tunity for  relating  Christ  to  social  life  and  interpreting  his  teaching  and 
example  on  some  social  questions  (p.  204). 

To  the  spiritual  man  all  things  are  spiritual.  It  is  important  that  this 
truth  be  recognized ;  then  teacher  and  class  will  approach  these  lessons  in 
a  reverent  spirit  and  will  realize  that  they  are  finding  the  will  of  God  in 
their  industrial  life  (p.  148). 

One  purpose  of  these  lessons  is  to  interpret  the  religious  meaning  of 
man's  social  nature  and  give  man  a  scale  of  social  values. 

....  This  lesson  has  two  aspects ;  one  deals  with  the  nature,  quality, 
and  value  of  the  task  itself.  The  other  considers  the  spirit  and  attitude  of 
the  worker  himself  toward  his  life-task.  Both  aspects  should  be  carefully 
noted  and  should  be  considered  together  as  parts  of  one  truth  (p.  187). 

These  citations,  all  taken  from  that  part  of  the  text  dealing  with 
the  industrial  order,  indicate  the  emphasis  placed  throughout  the 
course  on  those  phases  of  the  industrial  problem  which  are  not  purely 
economic  or  scientific.  Furthermore,  the  importance  given  religious 
and  moral  phases  suggests  a  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  authors,  that 
in  church  schools  this  can  not  be  omitted  even  in  the  treatment  of 
problems  appearing  to  some  as  purely  economic  and  sociological. 
Naturally,  such  a  situation  presents  certain  difficulties  when  dealing 
with  a  subject  like  that  of  capital  and  labor. 

Finally,  it  may  be  said,  careful  examination  shows  that  this  course, 
as  compared  with  the  Methodist  plan  of  the  same  name,  is  somewhat 
broad  and  abstract,  apparently  adapted  to  older  students ;  written, 
nevertheless,  in  a  very  human  way,  strongly  emphasizing  religious 
and  moral  values,  and  right  personal  relations.  In  the  treatment  of 
capital  and  labor  problems,  this  course  does  not  consider  the  economic 
doctrines  of  rent,  wages,  interest,  etc.,  being  in  no  sense  an  effort  to 
teach  economics  as  such. 

The  success  of  the  series  has  been  considerable,  although  no 
exact  statistics  are  available,  ^s  A  personal  letter  from  the  editor 
under  date  of  March  i,  1918,  states: 

We  have  not  collected  any  data  as  to  the  detailed  value  put  upon  the 
course  by  those  who  have  been  using  it.  However,  we  are  hearing  from 
numerous  sources  many  commendations  of  the  course  itself. 

28  The  publishers  were  unable  to  give  the  writer  the  names  and  addresses  of 
a  number  of  church  schools  using  this  series. 


METHODS  OF  TREATING  THE  PROBLEM  77 

SUMMARY 

The  outstanding  characteristic  of  the  courses  described  in  this 
section  is  that  they  are  based  upon  and  constantly  refer  to  scriptural, 
ethical,  and  religious  teachings,  including  the  stories  and  "value" 
lessons  from  the  Bible,  concrete  facts  and  conditions  of  the  present 
day  being  described  in  such  a  way  as  to  appeal  to  the  sympathy  and 
sense  of  solidarity.  Scientific  truths  regarding  fatigue,  nutrition, 
hygiene,  recreation,  education,  and  social  conditions  are,  to  a  certain 
extent,  fused  with  the  religious  values,  but  no  attempt  is  made  from 
the  point  of  view  of  economic  science  to  give  a  general  theoretical 
explanation  of  the  problems  of  capital  and  labor.  The  descriptions 
of  these  courses  may  appear  somewhat  disconnected,  with  a  lack  of 
systematic  organization.  This  is  partly  owing  to  the  way  in  which 
the  subjects  have  been  treated  in  the  courses.  No  systematized 
method  or  sequence  of  subjects  has  been  adopted  in  the  texts  under 
consideration.  Various  subjects  of  interest  have  been  included  and 
treated  in  an  empirical  and  somewhat  "experimental"  manner. 

CONCLUSION 

It  is  hoped  that  this  thesis  will  help  to  point  out  some  of  the 
principles  of  treatment  in  the  process  of  demonstration  through  these 
attempts  to  handle  a  difficult  subject,  and  that  the  experience  so  ex- 
hibited may  be  advantageously  used  later  in  developing  a  standard- 
ized method  for  the  treatment  of  such  problems  in  social  study  classes. 
It  is  believed,  however,  that  development  of  these  principles  must  be 
largely  incidental  to  the  inevitable  process  of  reconstruction  in  the 
more  inclusive  sense.  For  that  reason  it  would  be  untimely  to 
attempt  formulation  of  further  conclusions  from  the  evidence  here 
organized. 


i 


PARTIAL  LIST  OF  WORKS  CONSULTED 

I,    GENERAL   WORKS   ON    RELIGION 

Edward  Scribner  Ames,  Ph.D.,  The  Psychology  of  Religious  Experience, 
Boston  and  New  York:  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.,  1910. 

Samuel  A.  Barnett,  Religion  and  Politics,  London :  Wells,  Gardner,  Day- 
ton &Co.,  Ltd.,  191 1. 

Wilhelm  Bousset,  What  Is  Religion?  London:  T.  Fisher  Unwin,  1908. 

Durant  Drake,  Problems  of  Religion,  New  York :  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co., 
1916. 

William  Wilson  Elwang,  The  Social  Function  of  Religious  Belief.  Uni- 
versity of  Missouri.    Studies  H,  No.  i,  1908. 

G.  T.  Ladd,  The  Philosophy  of  Religion,  New  York:  Charles  Scribners' 
Sons,  1905. 

Arthur  Cushman  McGiffert,  The  Rise  of  Modern  Religious  Ideals. 

Emil  Carl  Wilm,  The  Problem  of  Religion,  Boston  and  New  York :  The 
Pilgrim  Press,  1912. 

II.     WORKS   DEALING   WITH    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION    AND   THE   SUNDAY 
SCHOOL 

Wm.  G.  Ballantine,  Religious  Education  and  the  Coming  Social  Order, 
Boston:     Pilgrim  Press,  1917. 

F.  Beard,  Graded  Missionary  Education  in  the  Church  School. 
W.  S.  Bovard,  Adults  in  the  Sunday  School. 

P.  F.  Burroughs,  The  Present  Day  Sunday  School. 

G.  A.  Coe,  A  Social  Theory  of  Religious  Education,  New  York :  Scrib- 
ners', 1917. 

R.  E.  Diffendorfer,  Missionary  Education,  New  York:  Abingdon  Press, 
1917. 

E.  J.  Dennen,  The  Sunday  School  under  Scientific  Management. 

J.  T.  Paris,  The  Sunday  School  at  Work. 

C.  W.  Heath,  The  Essentials  of  Religious  Education,  Boston :  Sherman, 
French  &  Co.,  1916. 

OfUcial  Report  of  the  14th  International  Sunday  School  Convention,  Or- 
ganized Sunday  School  Work  in  America,  1911-14,  Chicago,  1914. 

M.  Lawrance,  The  Sunday  School  Organized  for  Service. 

E.  A.  Miller,  Making  the  Old  Sunday  School  Neiv. 

W.  C.  Pearce,  The  Adult  Bible  Class. 

78 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  79 

Edwin  Wilbur  Rice,  The  Sunday  School  Movement. 
C.  L.  White,  The  Church  at  Work. 

Volumes  of  '"Religious  Education"  published  by  Religious  Education 
Association,  Chicago. 

III.     PARTIAL  LIST  OF  TEXTS  REFERRED  TO,  INCLUDING  THOSE  USED  IN 
SOCIAL  SERVICE  STUDIES 

Alfred  Amonn,   Objekt  und  Grundbegriffe  der  theoretischen  National- 

Okonomie,  Wien  und  Leipzig:  F.  Deuticke,  1911. 
S.  Z.  Batten,  The  Social  Task  of  Christianity,  F.  H.  Revell  &  Co.,  1911. 

The  Christian  State,  Philadelphia:  Griffith  &  Rowland  Press,  1909. 

Training  for  Citizenship  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  American  Bapt. 

Publ.  Soc.  Bull.  19. 
Chas.  F.  Dole,  The  Ethics  of  Progress,  New  York :  T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co., 

1909. 
A  Practical  Platform  for  Social  Progress,  Boston :  Amer.  Unit. 

Assn.,  Eaton  &  Mains. 
Edwin  L.  Earp,  Social  Aspects  of  Religious  Institutions,  New  York. 
Chas.  A.  Ellwood,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  New  York: 

American  Book  Company,  1913. 
J.  E.  Franklin,  The  Relation  of  Christianity  and  Socialism,  Amer.  Bapt. 

Publ.  Soc,  1914. 
C.  T.  Gardner,  The  Accumulation  of  Wealth,  Amer.  Bapt.  Publ.  Soc,  1916. 
Washington  Gladden,  The  Church  and  Modern  Life,  Houghton,  Mifflin 

Co.,  1908. 
"Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,"  Dr.  Josiah  Strong,  Editor,  New  York  American 

Institute  for  Social  Service. 
M.  L.  Goss.  Welfare  Work  by  Corporations,  Amer.  Bapt.  Publ.  Soc. 
Newton  Marshall  Hall,  Civic  Righteousness  and  Civic  Pride,  Boston : 

Sherman  French  &  Co.,  19 14. 
C.  R.  Henderson,  Social  Duties  from  a  Christian  Point  of  View. 
F.  A.  Hinckley,  The  Individual  and  the  Social  Order  in  Religion,  Ameri- 
can Unitarian  Association. 
Chas.  S.  iMacfarland,  Christian  Service  in  the  Modern  IVorld,  F.  H. 

Revell  &  Co.,  1915. 
Shailer  ^lathews,  The  Social  Teachings  of  Jesus,  New  York :  Macmillan 

Co.,  1902. 

The  Social  Gospel,  Griffith  Howland  Press,  1910. 

Scott  Nearing.  Women  in  American  Industry,  Amer.  Bapt.  Publ.  Soc, 

1915- 
Francis  Greenwood  Peabody,  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question. 
F.  Rank,  Etudes  de  Morales. 


8o         CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  IN  SOCIAL-STUDY  COURSES 

W.  Rauschenbusch,  Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis,  New  York:  Mac- 

millan  Co.,  1907. 
Francesco  de  Sarlo,  Principii  di  scienza  etica,  Milano :  R.  Sandron,  1907. 
F.  Herbert  Stead,  The  Kingdom  of  God,  Edinburg:  T.  &  T.  Clark. 
Chas.  Stelzle,  American  Social  &  Religious  Conditions,  F.  H.  Revell  Co., 

1912. 
The  Church  and  the  Labor  Movement,  Philadelphia :  Anier.  Bapt. 

Publ.  Soc. 
Josiah  Strong,  Our  World,  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  1913. 

The  Next  Great  Awakening,  New  York :  Baker,  Taylor  &  Co.,  1902. 

Thompson,  Divine  Order  of  Human  Society,  Phila. :  J.  D.  Watters,  1891. 
H.  F.  Ward,  Poverty  and  Wealth,  New  York :  Methodist  Book  Concern, 

1916. 
The  Living  Wage  a  Religious  Necessity,  Amer.  Bapt.  Publ.  Soc, 

1916. 

Social  Creed  of  the  Churches,  New  York :  Eaton  &  Mains  Co.,  1912. 

Social  Service  Year  Book,  New  York :  Am.  Missionary  Movement, 


1916. 

-Christianizing  Community  Life. 


B.  T.  Westcott,  Social  Aspects  of  Christianity,  London :  Macmillan  &  Co., 

1888. 
Rt.  Rev.  Chas.  D.  Williams,  The  Democracy  of  the  Kingdom,  American 

Unitarian  Association. 
M.  Williams,  The  Administration  of  Justice,  Amer.  Bapt.  Publ.  Soc,  1914. 
Year  Book,  Social  Service  of  the  Churches,  New  York  American  Mis- 
sionary Movement,  1916. 

Also  numerous  pamphlets  and  reports  published  by  church  denomina- 
tional bodies  and  social  service  commissions. 


KEY  FOR  CHURCH  STUDY-COURSE  REFERENCES 


NAME   OF  REFERENCE   AS  GIVEN    IN    FOOTNOTE 

Accumulation  of  Wealth 

Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis 

Christian   State 

Church  and  Labor 

Church  and  Modern  Life 
Creed  of  the  Churches       .... 
Democracy  of  the  Kingdom 
Divine  Order  of  Human  Society 
Gospel  of  the  Kingdom       ... 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question 
Living  Wage  a  Religious  Necessitj- 
Next  Great  Awakening      .... 

Our  World 

Poverty  and  Wealth  .... 

Practical  Program  for  Social  Reform 
Social  Aspect  of  Christianity 

Social  Gospel 

Social  Order  in  Religion 
Social  Task  of  Christianity 
Social  Teaching  of  Jesus 


AUTHOR 

S.  C.  Gardner 
W.  Rauschenbusch 
S.  Z.  Batten 
Chas.  Stelzle 
Washington  Gladden 
H.  F.  Ward 
C.  D.  Williams 
Thompson 
Josiah  Strong 
F.  G.  Peabody 
H.  F.  Ward 
Josiah  Strong 
Josiah  Strong 
H.  F.  Ward 
C.  F.  Dole 
B.  F.  Westcott 
S.  Mathews 
F.  A.  Hinckley 
S.  Z.  Batten 
S.  Mathews 


8i 


^HISBOOK^XS^,-^.--"^'^ 


rO  C6i2. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


